paregmenon means the juxtaposition of words that have the same roots; using cognate words together, such as "curvaceous curves", "my loving and beloved wife", or "he's a manly man". It carries an Arena rating of 1620, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, paregmenon ranks #270 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,362 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,571 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #4,122 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
Why “paregmenon” is a great word
PAREGMENON — [Noun] A rhetorical device in which words derived from the same root are placed in deliberate juxtaposition for effect, as in ‘a manly man,’ ‘sense and sensibility,’ or ‘judge not, that ye be not judged.’ From Ancient Greek παρηγμένον (parēgménon), the neuter participle of παράγειν (parágein, ‘to lead beside, alter, derive’). Unlike polyptoton, which repeats a word in different grammatical cases, or antanaclasis, which pivots on a punning shift in meaning, paregmenon is the broader, foundational play of cognates echoing one another. It is the preacher’s ‘charity with a charitable heart,’ the bureaucrat’s ‘regulation regulating regulations,’ and the lover’s plea for ‘a true truth’—a verbal tightening of the screw, where language turns back on its own origins to press a point home.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek.
noun
- The juxtaposition of words that have the same roots; using cognate words together, such as "curvaceous curves", "my loving and beloved wife", or "he's a manly man".
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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