syllepsis (redirected from syllepses)

syl·lep·sis  (s-lpss)

n. pl. syl·lep·ses (-sz)

A construction in which a word governs two or more other words but agrees in number, gender, or case with only one, or has a different meaning when applied to each of the words, as in He lost his coat and his temper.

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[Late Latin syllpsis, from Greek sullpsis : sun-, syn- + lpsis, a taking (from lambanein, to take).]

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syl·leptic (-lptk) adj.

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syllepsis [sɪˈlɛpsɪs]

n pl -ses [-siːz]

1. (Linguistics / Grammar) (Literature / Rhetoric) (in grammar or rhetoric) the use of a single sentence construction in which a verb, adjective, etc. is made to cover two syntactical functions, as the verb form have in she and they have promised to come

2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) another word for zeugma

[from Late Latin, from Greek sullēpsis, from sul- syn- + lēpsis a taking, from lambanein to take]

sylleptic  adj

sylleptically  adv

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syllepsis

the use of a word or expression to perform two syntactic functions, especially to apply to two or more words of which at least one does not agree in logic, number, case, or gender, as in Pope’s line “See Pan with flocks, with fruits Pomona crowned.” — sylleptic, sylleptical, adj.

See also: Grammar

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the use of a word with the same syntactic relation to two adjacent words, in a literal sense with one and a metaphorical sense with the other, as in “the ships collided, and the sailors and many dreams were drowned.” — sylleptic, adj.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

syllepsis - use of a word to govern two or more words though agreeing in number or case etc. with only one zeugma - use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one; "`Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma"