| anacoluthon |
| Definition - A change in grammatical structure within the same sentence. Grammar-wise, it is a solecism; rhetoric-wise, it is a type of emphasis. Notes: 1. In texts the change is often signalled with a dash. 2. Contrast this with aposiopesis, where the sentence peters out before it is complete. |
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Example - I warned him that if he didn't stop living in the past — what would the future be? |
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Etymology - The word derives from the Greek anakolouthos, does not follow (from an, not + akolouthos, following). The equivalent Latin term is non sequitur. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1706: "Anacolython, a Rhetorical Figure, when a Word that is to answer another is not express'd." (Phillips, The New World of Words ) |