zeugma

[ zoog-muh ]
/ ˈzug mə /

noun Grammar, Rhetoric.

the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words when it is appropriate to only one of them or is appropriate to each but in a different way, as in to wage war and peace or On his fishing trip, he caught three trout and a cold.
Compare syllepsis.

Origin of zeugma

1515–25; < Greek zeûgma a yoking, equivalent to zeug(nýnai) to yoke1 + -ma noun suffix of result

OTHER WORDS FROM zeugma

zeug·mat·ic [zoog-mat-ik] /zugˈmæt ɪk/, adjective zeug·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby zeugma

Example sentences from the Web for zeugma

British Dictionary definitions for zeugma

zeugma
/ (ˈzjuːɡmə) /

noun

a figure of speech in which a word is used to modify or govern two or more words although appropriate to only one of them or making a different sense with each, as in the sentence Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave (Charles Dickens)

Derived forms of zeugma

zeugmatic (zjuːɡˈmætɪk), adjective zeugmatically, adverb

Word Origin for zeugma

C16: via Latin from Greek: a yoking, from zeugnunai to yoke