anastrophe

a·nas·tro·phe  (-nstr-f)

n.

Inversion of the normal syntactic order of words; for example, "Matter too soft a lasting mark to bear" (Alexander Pope).

---

[Late Latin anastroph, from Greek, from anastrephein, to turn upside-down : ana-, ana- + strephein, to turn; see streb(h)- in Indo-European roots.]

---

anastrophe

a rhetorical device in which the usual word order of a phrase or sentence is reversed.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

anastrophe - the reversal of the normal order of words inversion rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)