parataxis

American  

[par-uh-tak-sis] / ˌpær əˈtæk sɪs /

noun

Grammar.

1. the placing together of sentences, clauses, or phrases without a conjunctive word or words, as Hurry up, it is getting late! I came—I saw—I conquered.

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parataxis British  

/ ˌpærəˈtæktɪk, ˌpærəˈtæksɪs /

noun

1. the juxtaposition of clauses in a sentence without the use of a conjunction, as for example None of my friends stayed — they all left early

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Other Word Forms

• paratactic adjective
• paratactical adjective
• paratactically adverb

Etymology

Origin of parataxis

1835–45; < New Latin < Greek parátaxis an arranging in order for battle. See para- ¹, -taxis

Example Sentences

Others include paving stones, Gascon folk tales, parataxis, punctuation, cognates, medieval architecture and sheepdogs.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2021

Briefly, parataxis is the artistic or literary technique of placing unrelated materials beside one another to encourage the exploration of the unpredictable resonances that arise between them.

From Slate • Jan. 9, 2013

But the flipside of that invitation is that parataxis has the tendency to inspire a kind of critical numbness in the face of the mass of seemingly unorganized material and lack of explicit authorial/narrative direction.

From Slate • Jan. 9, 2013

It's not stylistics or parataxis or rhythm or metaphor.

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2012

Translation.—Before you translate, notice Ovid’s frequent use of parataxis, i.e. placing one thought side by side with another thought, without any connective, even although one thought is, in sense, clearly subordinate to another.

From Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Luce, Edmund