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Zeugma

//ˈzjuːɡ.mə// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one. countable, rhetoric, uncountable
  2. 2
    use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb's polysemy, for humorous effect wordnet
  3. 3
    Syllepsis. countable, rhetoric, uncountable

    "The existence of zeugmas suggests the rule of transitivity. Zeugmas appear incorrect because they embody an allegedly univocal use of a term in a way which violated^([sic]) the rule of transitivity."

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα (zeûgma, “yoking; a bond, a band”), from ζεύγνυμι (zeúgnumi, “to yoke; to join”), from ζεῦγος (zeûgos, “a yoke”).

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