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Anacoluthon
//ænəkəˈluːθɒn// noun
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
"The name of his dog is — I don't really remember right now."
- 2 an abrupt change within a sentence from one syntactic structure to another wordnet
- 3 Intentional use of such a structure. rhetoric
"Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!""
Etymology
From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.
See also for "anacoluthon"
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