enjambment

[ en-jam-muhnt, -jamb- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Prosody.

, plural en·jamb·ments [en-, jam, -m, uh, nts, -, jamb, -].

the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break:
Enjambment is a creative device of long standing, famously used by Homer, Shakespeare, and Eliot, among many other literary luminaries.

enjambment

/ ɑ̃ʒɑ̃bmɑ̃; ɪnˈdʒæmmənt /

noun

prosody the running over of a sentence from one line of verse into the next

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Derived Forms

enˈjambed, adjective

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Other Words From

en·jambed adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of enjambment¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from French enjambement, equivalent to enjamb(er) “to stride over, project, encroach” ( en- + -jamber, derivative of jambe “leg” + -ment ); en- ¹, jamb ¹, -ment

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Word History and Origins

Origin of enjambment¹

C19: from French, literally: a straddling, from enjamber to straddle, from en- ¹+ jambe leg; see jamb

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Example Sentences

Now Bartels points out that in Layamons verse there is no enjambment and no beginning of a clause in the middle of a half-line.

From Project Gutenberg

Enjambment, en-jamb′ment, n. in verse, the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of the line.

From Project Gutenberg

The piece is vigorous, if not quite Clevelandish in the presence of some enjambment, and the absence of extravagant conceit.

From Project Gutenberg

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