syllepsis means A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word; often causing humorous incongruity. It carries an Arena rating of 1399, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, syllepsis ranks #991 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #1,453 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #3,106 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,416 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
syllepsis is pronounced /sɪˈlɛp.sɪs/.
Why “syllepsis” is a great word
A figure of speech in which a single word, typically a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more other words in a sentence but must be understood in a different sense with respect to each. From Latin syllepsis, from Ancient Greek σύλληψις (súllēpsis, "a taking together"), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, "to take or gather together"), first attested in English in the 1570s. Unlike zeugma, where a word governs others in a consistent grammatical or semantic sense, or ellipsis, where a word is omitted altogether, syllepsis demands that the governing word perform a kind of acrobatic split. It is the elegant stumble of "He took his hat and his leave," the concrete misplacement of "She lost her keys and her temper," and the quiet sorrow of "He found solace and a coin in his coat’s empty pocket." In its clever economy lies a quiet confession: language, like the mind it serves, is forever multitasking, forced to bridge the literal and the figurative with a single, straining thread.
Etymology
From Latin syllepsis, from Ancient Greek σύλληψις (súllēpsis), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō).
noun
- A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word; often causing humorous incongruity.
- Growth in which lateral branches develop from a lateral meristem, without the formation of a bud or period of dormancy, when the lateral meristem is split from a terminal meristem.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- sylleptic 76% match — Of or pertaining to syllepsis. vs syllepsis →
- zeugma 68% match — The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one. vs syllepsis →
- sylleptical 64% match — sylleptic vs syllepsis →
- synecdoche 57% match — A figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part, or a specific kind or instance to represent the general category, or the general category to represent a specific kind or instance, or the constituent material to represent the thing made from it. vs syllepsis →
- solecism 57% match — An error or improper usage. vs syllepsis →
- simile 56% match — A figure of speech in which one thing is explicitly compared to another, using e.g. like or as. vs syllepsis →
- hyperzeugma 55% match — A rhetorical figure in which each phrase or clause has its own verb. The opposite of zeugma. vs syllepsis →
- diazeugma 53% match — A zeugma where a single subject governs multiple verbs. vs syllepsis →