Polyptoton

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ËŒpÉ‘l.É™pˈtoÊŠ.tÉ‘n/

Origin

Via Latin, from Ancient Greek πολύπτωτον (poluptōton), neuter of πολύπτωτος (poluptōtos, "having many cases"), from πολύς (polus, "many") + πίπτω (piptō, "I fall").

Full definition of polyptoton

Noun

1. (rhetoric) A stylistic scheme in which words from the same root are used together, or a word is repeated in a different inflection or case.

Usage notes

An example of polyptoton appears in the following quote with variation on the word feed:

c1595, William Shakespeare, , act II, scene i,

With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder.

Hypernyms

• (rhetoric) ploce