enjambment
[ en-jam-muhnt, -jamb- ]
/ ɛnˈdʒæm mənt, -ˈdʒæmb- /
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noun, plural en·jamb·ments [en-jam-muhnts, -jamb-]. /ɛnˈdʒæm mənts, -ˈdʒæmb-/. Prosody.
the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break: Enjambment is a creative device of long standing, famously used by Homer, Shakespeare, and Eliot, among many other literary luminaries.
QUIZZES
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Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!
Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
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OTHER WORDS FROM enjambment
en·jambed, adjectiveWords nearby enjambment
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for enjambment
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.
Enjambment, en-jamb′ment, n. in verse, the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of the line.
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
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 forms of enjambment
enjambed, adjectiveWord 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
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