zeugma

[ zoog-muh ]

/ ˈzug mə /

noun Grammar, Rhetoric.

the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words when it is appropriate to only one of them or is appropriate to each but in a different way, as in to wage war and peace or On his fishing trip, he caught three trout and a cold.

Nearby words

Compare syllepsis.

Origin of zeugma

1515–25; < Greek zeûgma a yoking, equivalent to zeug(nýnai) to yoke¹ + -ma noun suffix of result

Related formszeug·mat·ic

[zoog-mat-ik] /zugˈmæt ɪk/, adjectivezeug·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for zeugma

Lucullus appears to have crossed the Euphrates at a more northern point than Zeugma, where the river was crossed by Crassus.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume II|Aubrey Stewart & George Long
The young prince accordingly set out, and reached the city of Zeugma in safety.
The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia|George Rawlinson
There is a zeugma in speaks as applied to ‘thunder’ and ‘chains,’ unless it be taken as in both cases equivalent to denounces.
Milton's Comus|John Milton
Zeugma is either upon or near the site of Bir, which is in about 37° N. Lat.
Plutarch's Lives Volume III.|Plutarch

British Dictionary definitions for zeugma

zeugma

/ (ˈzjuːɡmə) /

noun

a figure of speech in which a word is used to modify or govern two or more words although appropriate to only one of them or making a different sense with each, as in the sentence Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave (Charles Dickens)

Derived Formszeugmatic (zjuːɡˈmætɪk), adjectivezeugmatically, adverb

Word Origin for zeugma

C16: via Latin from Greek: a yoking, from zeugnunai to yoke

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

Word Origin and History for zeugma

zeugma

1580s, "a single word (usually a verb or adjective) made to refer to two or more words in a sentence," from Greek, literally "a yoking," from zeugnynai "to yoke" (see jugular).