enjambment

[ en-jam-muh nt, -jamb- ]

/ ɛnˈdʒæm mənt, -ˈdʒæmb- /

noun, plural en·jamb·ments [en-jam-muh nts, -jamb-] /ɛnˈdʒæm mənts, -ˈdʒæmb-/. Prosody.

the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break.

Origin of enjambment

1830–40; < French enjambement, equivalent to enjamb(er) to stride over, project, encroach (en- en-¹ + -jamber, derivative of jambe leg; see jamb¹) + -ment -ment

Related formsen·jambed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for enjambment

The piece is vigorous, if not quite Clevelandish in the presence of some enjambment, and the absence of extravagant conceit.
Minor Poets of the Caroline Period, Vol III|John Cleveland
Enjambment, en-jamb′ment, n. in verse, the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of the line.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various
Now Bartels points out that in Layamons verse there is no enjambment and no beginning of a clause in the middle of a half-line.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various

British Dictionary definitions for enjambment

enjambment

enjambement

/ (ɪnˈdʒæmmənt, French ɑ̃ʒɑ̃bmɑ̃) /

noun

prosody the running over of a sentence from one line of verse into the next

Derived Formsenjambed, adjective

Word Origin for enjambment

C19: from French, literally: a straddling, from enjamber to straddle, from en- 1 + jambe leg; see jamb

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 enjambment

enjambment

also enjambement, 1837, from French enjambement or from enjamb (c.1600), from French enjamber "to stride over," from en- (see en- (1)) + jambe "leg" (see jamb).