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hendiadys

[ hen-dahy-uh-dis ]
/ hɛnˈdaɪ ə dɪs /
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noun Rhetoric.
a figure in which a complex idea is expressed by two words connected by a copulative conjunction: “to look with eyes and envy” instead of “with envious eyes.”
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Origin of hendiadys

1580–90; <Medieval Latin; alteration of Greek phrase hèn dià dyoîn one through two, one by means of two
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hendiadys in a sentence

  • This line is a type of hendiadys, the first half of the line being redefined by the second.

  • Real instances of hendiadys are much rarer than is generally supposed.

    Cato Maior de Senectute|Marcus Tullius Cicero
  • A hendiadys for 'Go drink all the mind-purging hellebore that grows in Anticyra'.

British Dictionary definitions for hendiadys

hendiadys
/ (hɛnˈdaɪədɪs) /

noun
a rhetorical device by which two nouns joined by a conjunction, usually and, are used instead of a noun and a modifier, as in to run with fear and haste instead of to run with fearful haste

Word Origin for hendiadys

C16: from Medieval Latin, changed from Greek phrase hen dia duoin, literally: one through two
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
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