parataxis

[ par-uh-tak-sis ]
/ ˌpær əˈtæk sɪs /

noun Grammar.

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.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Compare hypotaxis.

Origin of parataxis

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

OTHER WORDS FROM parataxis

par·a·tac·tic [par-uh-tak-tik] /ˌpær əˈtæk tɪk/, par·a·tac·ti·cal, adjectivepar·a·tac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby parataxis

parasyntheton, parasystole, parataniwha, parataxic, parataxic distortion, parataxis, paratenesis, paratenic host, paratenon, paraterminal gyrus, paratha
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for parataxis

parataxis
/ (ˌpærəˈtæksɪs) /

noun

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

Derived forms of parataxis

paratactic (ˌpærəˈtæktɪk), adjectiveparatactically, adverb

Word Origin for parataxis

C19: New Latin from Greek, from paratassein, literally: to arrange side by side, from para- 1 + tassein to arrange
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