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hyperbaton

 - 4 dictionary results

hy⋅per⋅ba⋅ton

  [hahy-pur-buh-ton]
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–noun, plural -ba⋅tons, -ba⋅ta  [-buh-tuh] . Rhetoric.
the use, esp. for emphasis, of a word order other than the expected or usual one, as in “Bird thou never wert.”
Origin:
1570–80; < L < Gk: transposition, lit., overstepping, deriv. of neut. of hyperbatós, equiv. to hyper- hyper- + ba- (s. of baínein to walk, step) + -tos verbal adj. suffix; cf. basis

Related forms:
hy⋅per⋅bat⋅ic  [hahy-per-bat-ik] , adjective
hy⋅per⋅bat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hy·per·ba·ton   (hī-pûr'bə-tŏn')   
n.  A figure of speech, such as anastrophe or hysteron proteron, using deviation from normal or logical word order to produce an effect.

[Greek huperbaton, from neuter of huperbatos, transposed, from huperbainein, to step over : huper-, over, across; see hyper- + bainein, to step; see gwā- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hyperbaton 
1579, "figure of speech in which the natural order of words or phrases is inverted, especially for the sake of emphasis," from Gk. hyperbaton, lit. "overstepping," from hyper "over" + bainein "to step" (see come).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

hyperbaton

a transposition or inversion of usual word order. The device is often used in poetry, as in line 13 from Canto II of Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock (1712-14): "Bright as the sun, her eyes the gazers strike."

Learn more about hyperbaton with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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