Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

anacoluthon

noun an·a·co·lu·thon \ ˌa-nə-kə-ˈlü-ˌthän \

Definition of anacoluthon

plural anacolutha play \-thə\ also anacoluthons
: syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence; especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another (as in "you really ought—well, do it your own way")
—

anacoluthic

play \-thik\ adjective
—

anacoluthically

play \-thi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

anacoluthon was our Word of the Day on 07/18/2011. Hear the podcast!

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Get Word of the Day daily email, delivered to your inbox!

anacoluthon Has Greek Roots

Looking at examples of - never mind that, we can't think of any - let us look at the history of "anacoluthon." (Or maybe we can think of an example. The shift in the preceding sentence from "looking at examples of" to "let us look at the root of" is one!) "Anacoluthon" traces back to Greek anakolouthos, which means "inconsistent" and is a compound of "an-" ("not") and "akolouthos" ("following"). Anacolutha (the word's plural form) frequently occur in speech and in literary writing especially to express excited or distraught emotion or thoughts.

Origin and Etymology of anacoluthon

Late Latin, from Late Greek anakolouthon inconsistency in logic, from Greek, neuter of anakolouthos inconsistent, from an- + akolouthos following, from ha-, a- together + keleuthos path

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up anacoluthon? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

balmy

play

soothing, mild, or foolish

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. asylum 'protection from arrest and extradition given especially to political refugees'

  2. insubordinate 'disobedient to authority'

  3. promulgate 'to make known by open declaration'

  4. epochal 'momentous or unparalleled'

  5. clemency 'merciful treatment of someone who could be given harsh punishment'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

anacoluthon

Test Your Vocabulary

Name More Food!

  • red-fruit
  • Name that Fruit!
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games