anacoluthon
[an-uh-kuh-loo-thon]
- a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as It makes me so—I just get angry.
- an instance of anacoluthia.
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Origin of anacoluthon
1700–10; < Greek anakólouthon, neuter of anakólouthos not following, equivalent to an- an-1 + akólouthos marching together (a- together + kolouth-, gradational variant of keleuth- road, march + -os adj. suffix
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for anacoluthon
Historical Examples
The anacoluthon in Mk iv, 31, is avoided by Matthew and Luke.
Sources of the Synoptic GospelsCarl S. Patton
Anacoluthon, a want of grammatical and logical sequence in the structure of a sentence.
A breakdown like this—an anacoluthon, as the grammarians call it—is nothing strange in Paul's style.
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the GalatiansG. G. Findlay
anacoluthon
- rhetoric a construction that involves the change from one grammatical sequence to another within a single sentence; an example of anacoluthia
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Word Origin
C18: from Late Latin, from Greek anakolouthon, from anakolouthos not consistent, from an- + akolouthos following
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for anacoluthon
n.
"want of grammatical sequence; changing constructions in mid-clause," 1706, from Latinized form of Greek anakoluthon, neuter of anakolouthos "inconsequent," from an- "not" (see an- (1)) + akolouthos "following," from copulative prefix a- + keleuthos "way, road, track, path" (see celerity).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper