Meanings
plural paraprosdokians
- rhetoricA figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part.
This style of comic poetry, a kind of parody of the Ballad, a series of quatrains generally leading up to a paraprosdokian or surprise in the fourth line, was initiated by [Oliver] Goldsmith in this merry tale.
1906, J. C. Stobart, The Johnson Epoch (Epochs of English literature), volume VII, London: E. Arnold, page 144
Origin
- Ancient Greekπαρά“against”
- Englishparaprosdokian
From Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “against”) + προσδοκία (prosdokía, “expectation”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 句子在最後有意想不到的結尾, 句子在最后有意想不到的结尾
- 句子在最後有意想不到的結尾figure of speech
- 句子在最后有意想不到的结尾 (jùzi zài zuìhòu yìxiǎngbudào de jiéwěi)figure of speech
Finnish yllätys
- yllätysfigure of speech
Cite this entry
paraprosdokian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraprosdokian
“paraprosdokian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraprosdokian. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paraprosdokian,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraprosdokian.
Source: paraprosdokian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.