anacoluthon

[an-uh-kuh-loo-thon]

noun, plural an·a·co·lu·tha [an-uh-kuh-loo-thuh] /ˌæn ə kəˈlu θə/. Rhetoric.

a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence, as It makes me so—I just get angry.

an instance of anacoluthia.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anacoluthon

Historical Examples of anacoluthon

The anacoluthon in Mk iv, 31, is avoided by Matthew and Luke.
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Carl S. Patton
Anacoluthon, a want of grammatical and logical sequence in the structure of a sentence.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2
Various
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 Galatians
G. G. Findlay

British Dictionary definitions for anacoluthon

anacoluthon

noun plural -tha (-θə)

rhetoric a construction that involves the change from one grammatical sequence to another within a single sentence; an example of anacoluthia

Word Origin for anacoluthon

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anacoluthon

"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).