hypallage

[ hi-pal-uh-jee, hahy- ]
/ hɪˈpæl ə dʒi, haɪ- /

noun Rhetoric.

the reversal of the expected syntactic relation between two words, as in “her beauty's face” for “her face's beauty.”

Origin of hypallage

1580–90; < Latin < Greek hypallagḗ interchange, equivalent to hyp- hyp- + allagḗ change ( all- all- + ag- (stem of ágein to lead; see -agogue) + -ē noun suffix)

Words nearby hypallage

hypacusis, hypaesthesia, hypaethral, hypalbuminemia, hypalgesia, hypallage, hypamnios, hypanakinesis, hypanthium, hypaspist, hypatia

Example sentences from the Web for hypallage

  • The epithet is, by hypallage, transferred from the person to the dew or cold sweat which ‘dips’ or moistens his body.

    Milton's Comus |John Milton

  • Sterili is transferred by hypallage from litus; siccum serves no purpose beyond providing a balancing epithet.

    The Last Poems of Ovid |Ovid

British Dictionary definitions for hypallage

hypallage
/ (haɪˈpæləˌdʒiː) /

noun

rhetoric a figure of speech in which the natural relations of two words in a statement are interchanged, as in the fire spread the wind

Word Origin for hypallage

C16: via Late Latin from Greek hupallagē interchange, from hypo- + allassein to exchange