anacoluthon

English

Alternative forms

• anacolouthon

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/

Noun

anacoluthon (plural anacolutha or anacoluthons)

Examples (intentional use of inconsistent grammatical structure)
You better not or, what do you think will happen? He had long wanted, and even dreamed about, going to Paris.

1. (grammar) A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
   • 1835, Moses Stuart, A Treatise on the Syntax of the New Testament Dialect: With an Appendix, Containing a Dissertation on the Greek Article, Edinburgh: T. Clarke, →OCLC, page 249:

     Another species of anacoluthon is when, after the sentence is begun with a participle, the construction passes over into a finite verb, where we should naturally expect the participial construction to be continued.

2. (rhetoric) Intentional use of such a structure.
   • 1874, James Boyd, Elements of English Composition, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Logical, and Practical; Prepared for Academies and Schools, New York: A.S. Barnes, →OCLC, page 281:

     Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!"

Hyponyms

• anapodoton
• nominativus pendens

Derived terms

• anacoluthic
• anacoluthistic

 

Related terms

• non sequitur

Translations

intentional rhetorical structure

• Catalan: anacolut (ca) m
• Finnish: anakoluutti
• French: anacoluthe (fr) f
• German: Anakoluth (de) n, Satzbruch (de) m
• Greek: ανακόλουθο (el) n (anakóloutho)

  Ancient: ἀνακόλουθον n (anakólouthon)

• Italian: anacoluto (it) m
• Latin: anacolūthon n
• Polish: anakolut (pl) m
• Portuguese: anacoluto (pt) m
• Russian: анаколу́ф (ru) m (anakolúf)
• Spanish: anacoluto (es) m

See also

• anacoluthon on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• “anacoluthon” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.
• Silva Rhetoricae

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /a.na.koˈluː.tʰon/, [änäkɔˈɫ̪uːt̪ʰɔn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a.na.koˈlu.ton/, [änäkoˈluːt̪on]

Noun

anacolūthon n (genitive anacolūthī); second declension

1. anacoluthon

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	anacolūthon	anacolūtha
Genitive	anacolūthī	anacolūthōrum
Dative	anacolūthō	anacolūthīs
Accusative	anacolūthon	anacolūtha
Ablative	anacolūthō	anacolūthīs
Vocative	anacolūthon	anacolūtha

References

• “anacoluthon” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.