hypallage

[ hi-pal-uh-jee, hahy- ]

/ hɪˈpæl ə dʒi, haɪ- /

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noun Rhetoric.

the reversal of the expected syntactic relation between two words, as in “her beauty's face” for “her face's beauty.”

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of hypallage

1580–90; <Latin <Greek hypallagḗ interchange, equivalent to hyp-hyp- + allagḗ change (all-all- + ag- (stem of ágein to lead; see -agogue) + -ē noun suffix)

Words nearby hypallage

hyp, hypabyssal, hypaesthesia, hypaethral, hypalgesia, hypallage, hypanthium, hypaspist, Hypatia, hype, hypebeast

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hypallage in a sentence

The epithet is, by hypallage, transferred from the person to the dew or cold sweat which ‘dips’ or moistens his body.
Milton's Comus|John Milton
The joining it with 'beach' seems an instance of the figure called Hypallage.
The Shakespeare-Expositor: An Aid to the Perfect Understanding of Shakespeare's Plays|Thomas Keightley
Sterili is transferred by hypallage from litus; siccum serves no purpose beyond providing a balancing epithet.
The Last Poems of Ovid|Ovid

British Dictionary definitions for hypallage

hypallage

/ (haɪˈpæləˌdʒiː) /

noun

rhetoric a figure of speech in which the natural relations of two words in a statement are interchanged, as in the fire spread the wind

Word Origin for hypallage

C16: via Late Latin from Greek hupallagē interchange, from hypo- + allassein to exchange

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