epizeuxis
[ ep-i-zook-sis ]
nounRhetoric.
a literary or rhetorical device that appeals to or invokes the reader’s or listener’s emotions through the repetition of words or phrases in quick succession, as in “Threaten me all you want, I won’t do it. I won’t! I won’t! I won’t!”
Origin of epizeuxis
1First recorded in 1580–90; from New Latin, from Greek epízeuxis “fastening together, joining, repetition (of words),” equivalent to prefix epi- and zeûxis “yoking (of oxen), joining,” verbal noun from zeugnýnai “to yoke, join”; see origin at epi-; see also hypozeuxis, yoke1
- Compare diacope.
Words Nearby epizeuxis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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