Meanings
plural anacolutha · plural anacoluthons · alternative anacolouthon
- countableuncountablegrammarA sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
Another species of anacoluthon is when, after the sentence is begun with a participle, the construction passes over into a finite verb, where we should naturally expect the participial construction to be continued.
1835, Moses Stuart, A Treatise on the Syntax of the New Testament Dialect: With an Appendix, Containing a Dissertation on the Greek Article, Edinburgh: T. Clarke, →OCLC, page 249 - countablerhetoricuncountableIntentional use of such a structure.
Anacoluthon, though a grammatical defect, is a rhetorical beauty, if naturally produced or imitated; as, "If thou art he—but oh! how fallen!"
1874, James Boyd, Elements of English Composition, Grammatical, Rhetorical, Logical, and Practical; Prepared for Academies and Schools, New York: A.S. Barnes, →OCLC, page 281
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan abrupt change within a sentence from one syntactic structure to another
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀνακόλουθον“without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”
- Late Latinanacolūthon
- Englishanacoluthon
From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.
More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον
- ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon)intentional rhetorical structure
Catalan anacolut
- anacolutintentional rhetorical structure
Dutch anakoloet
- anakoloetintentional rhetorical structure
Finnish anakoluutti
- anakoluuttiintentional rhetorical structure
French anacoluthe
- anacolutheintentional rhetorical structure
German Anakoluth, Satzbruch
- Anakoluthintentional rhetorical structure
- Satzbruchintentional rhetorical structure
Greek ανακόλουθο
- ανακόλουθο (anakóloutho)intentional rhetorical structure
Italian anacoluto
- anacolutointentional rhetorical structure
Latin anacolūthon
- anacolūthonintentional rhetorical structure
Polish anakolut
- anakolutintentional rhetorical structure
Portuguese anacoluto
- anacolutointentional rhetorical structure
Russian анаколу́ф
- анаколу́ф (anakolúf)intentional rhetorical structure
Spanish anacoluto
- anacolutointentional rhetorical structure
Cite this entry
anacoluthon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacoluthon
“anacoluthon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacoluthon. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anacoluthon,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anacoluthon.
Source: anacoluthon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.