anacoluthon
noun/ænəkəˈluːθɒn/
Etymology From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
- Another species of anacoluthon is when, after the sentence is begun with a participle, the construction passes over into a finite verb, where we should naturally expect the participial construction to be continued.1835, Moses Stuart, A Treatise on the Syntax of the New Testament Dialect: With an Appendix, Containing a Dissertation on the Greek Article, Edinburgh: T. Clarke, →OCLC, page 249:
2
Rhetoric Intentional use of such a structure.
- Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!"1874, James Boyd, Elements of English Composition, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Logical, and Practical; Prepared for Academies and Schools, New York: A.S. Barnes, →OCLC, page 281:
- Derived terms
- anacoluthic, anacoluthistic
- Related terms
- non sequitur
- Hyponyms
- anapodoton, nominativus pendens