anastrophe

[uh-nas-truh-fee]

noun Rhetoric.

inversion of the usual order of words.

Origin of anastrophe

1570–80; < Greek: turning back. See ana-, strophe

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

British Dictionary definitions for anastrophe

anastrophe

noun

rhetoric another term for inversion (def. 3)

Word Origin for anastrophe

C16: from Greek, from anastrephein to invert

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 anastrophe

"inversion of usual word order," 1570s, from Greek anastrophe "a turning back, a turning upside down," from anastrephein "to turn up or back, to turn upside down," from ana "back" (see ana-) + strephein "to turn" (see strophe).