In rhetoric, zeugma (/ ˈzjuːɡmə / ⓘ; from the Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα, zeûgma, lit. "a yoking together" [1]) and syllepsis (/ sɪˈlɛpsɪs /; from the Ancient Greek σύλληψις, súllēpsis, lit. "a taking together" [2]) are figures of speech in which a single phrase or …

The meaning of SYLLEPSIS is the use of a word to modify or govern syntactically two or more words with only one of which it formally agrees in gender, number, or case. Did you know?

Jul 29, 2019 · Syllepsis is a rhetorical term for a kind of ellipsis in which one word (usually a verb) is understood differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governs. Adjective: sylleptic.

Dec 27, 2023 · Syllepsis, as a literary device, involves a singular word that governs or modifies two or more others in a sentence, creating semantic duality. Syllepsis originates from the Greek word “syllepsis,” meaning “a taking together.” The term was introduced into English through Latin.

Aug 12, 2016 · Device: Syllepsis. Origin: From the Greek σύλληψις (sillipsis) meaning to take together. In plain English: When one word—often a verb—is used in two different ways, or applied to two different things. Effect: It’s a clever play on words that surprises and thus catches our attention. Notes: In its simplest form, syllepsis is a pun.

Syllepsis involves the very clever use of words to draw attention, and in some cases, surprise the reader. It, therefore, involves achieving some comic or witty effects by combining semantic incongruity and grammatical parallelism.

Syllepsis is agreement formed according to the figurative meaning of a word, or the mental conception of something spoken of, and not merely the literal or common sense of the term. The term syllepsis literally signifies conception, comprehension, or taking-together.

SYLLEPSIS definition: (in grammar or rhetoric ) the use of a single sentence construction in which a verb ,... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

Simile is when two things are compared using the words like or as, as in “cheeks as red as roses” or “hair like fire”; metaphor is when a word or phrase that literally means something else is used figuratively in order to describe another thing, as in “drowning in debt.”

Apr 2, 2025 · syllepsis Quick Reference A figure of speech by which a word, or a particular form or inflection of a word, is made to refer to two or more words in the same sentence, while properly applying to them in different senses: e.g. ‘Miss Bolo…went home in a flood of tears and a sedan chair’ (Dickens, Pickwick Papers, ch. 35).