Zeugma (Noun)

Definition 1: The Greek correlate of the Latinate word, "syllepsis" [si-'lep-sis], a syntactic construction in which a single word governs at least two other words or phrases even though its sense applies to them in different ways, e.g. "He flew off the handle and straight to Rio."

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Usage 1: Zeugma (syllepsis) usually indicates that one of the words or phrases involved is used normally while the other is in an idiom. "To lose one's temper" is idiomatic (nothing is actually lost) while the meaning of "to lose his hat" is straightforward. However, if you combine them, i.e. "He lost his hat and his temper," the result is a mildly amusing zeugmatic expression which is syntactically good but semantically not so. (Some people argue that zeugma and syllepsis are not the same but there is no general agreement as to what the difference is.)

Suggested usage: Let's begin with an example of zeugma from 'Dombey and Son' by Charles Dickens, "Miss Nipper shook her head and a tin canister, and began, unasked, to make the tea." Get the idea? Now let's see if we can do it: "Councilwoman Rankin would rather press flesh than clothes." You have probably already heard something similar to this, "He drove his car recklessly and his wife crazy." All these sentences suffer from inoperable zeugma.

Etymology: From Greek zeugma "a bond," which devolved from earlier *yeug-, also the origin of English "yoke." Latin jugum "yoke" ([j] was pronounce [y]) is another descendent, one responsible for English "jugular," "conjugate," and "subjugate." The same root became Sanskrit yugam "yoke" and yoga "union." English "jostle" is a former diminutive of "joust," borrowed from Latin iuxtare "to be next to" from iuxta "nearby," another relative. The nasalized variant gave us English "join," "joint," "junction" and Spanish "junta," all originating in Latin iungere "to join." (Now let's take the bull by the horns and the time to thank Mary Jane Stoneburg of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for yoking us up with today's word.)

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