chiasmus
[ kahy-az-muhs ]
noun,plural chi·as·mi [kahy-az-mahy]. /kaɪˈæz maɪ/. Rhetoric.
a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.”
Origin of chiasmus
1Words Nearby chiasmus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chiasmus in a sentence
There is chiasmus here, since privata is contrasted with honoratis and quieta with claris.
Cato Maior de Senectute | Marcus Tullius CiceroFor the more complicated forms of chiasmus consult Ngelsbach, Stil.
Cato Maior de Senectute | Marcus Tullius Cicero
British Dictionary definitions for chiasmus
chiasmus
/ (kaɪˈæzməs) /
nounplural -mi (-maɪ)
rhetoric reversal of the order of words in the second of two parallel phrases: he came in triumph and in defeat departs
Origin of chiasmus
1C19: from New Latin, from Greek khiasmos crisscross arrangement; see chiasma
Derived forms of chiasmus
- chiastic (kaɪˈæstɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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