3. Greek and Latin Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

Where the spelling of a term in the Old Norse sources differs from that of medieval Latin, the Latin word is given first, and the Old Norse equivalent is supplied in roman type within parentheses. Explanations relate to the usage of the terms within the Old Norse sources.

ab actu (ON af gerð ‘by deed’), an epitheton of the type extrinsecus in which an adjective arising from deeds is used

ab animo (ON af ǫnd ‘by the spirit’), a type of antonomasia in which a word for a non-physical attribute replaces a proper name; also a type of epitheton in which a characterising adjective referring to the mind is used

ab euentu (ON af atburð ‘by event’), an epitheton of the type extrinsecus in which an adjective relating to an event is used

a corpore (ON af líkam ‘by the body’), a type of antonomasia in which a word for a physical attribute replaces a proper name; also a type of epitheton in which a adjective characterising the body is used

acyrologia, incorrect lexical use of a word

allegoria, conveying a meaning other than the literal sense of the words used

a loco (ON af stað ‘by place’), an epitheton of the type extrinsecus in which an adjective relating to place is used

amphibolia (‘amphibologia’), ambiguity of diction

amplificatio, a generic term for various types of amplifications of speech

anadiplosis, linkage of the end of one stanza to the beginning of another

anaphora, the repetition of the same word at the beginning of each line

anastrophus (‘anatropa’, ‘anastropha’), the inversion of word order

antanaclassis or anticlasis (‘aclacassis’), the denotation of opposite meanings with the same words

anthropospathos (‘antropuspatos’), the assignment of human qualities to a deity

anticlasis, see antanaclassis

antimetabola (‘ansimehisa’), the use of words of obscure signification in order to change the sense (the Latin figure refers to the rearrangement of words in two clauses to bring about a change of meaning)

antiphrasis (‘antifrasis’), a rhetorical figure in which a single noun means the opposite of its lexical sense

antipophora (‘antiposora’), a rhetorical figure in which a man responds to those things that another man prepares himself to charge him with at the assembly, and stands up ready to declare the case, but does not speak (the Latin figure involves making an anticipated response to a tacit objection)

antiptosis (‘antitosus’), the deliberate alteration of number, case or tense

antitheton (‘antiteton’), the separation of words constituting a clause within a stanza so that the first words and the last go together and constitute a complete utterance

antonomasia, the use of a common noun for a proper noun; see also the three types ab animo, a corpore and extrinsecus

apocope, the loss of letters or syllables from the end of a word

aposiopasis (‘aposiopesis’), a kind of reticence brought about by strong feelings on the part of the orator resulting in the omission of implicit words

apostropha, an exclamatory address, often to an absent or imaginary person or thing

asyndeton or dialyton (‘dialiton’), the omission of a conjunction

barbarismus, licensed incorrect or non-standard pronunciation or spelling of words either by addition, deletion, exchange or transposition of sounds or letters

bethgraphia, the description of, or reference to, a house (with the first element beth- from Hebrew beth ‘house’), apparently unattested elsewhere

brachilogia, see oliopomenon

cacemphaton (‘cacenphaton’), an ill-sounding expression

cacosyntheton (‘cacosintheton’), faulty juxtaposition of words

catachresis (‘cathacresis’), inappropriate use of one word for another, particularly in metaphors

chronographia (‘cronographía’), the specification of the point of time at which an event occurred, chronological record

climax or gradatio, a rhetorical figure which leads each sentence from another by equal steps (the Latin figure refers to an arrangement of ideas in order of increasing importance or emphasis)

collisiones, the juxtaposition of two syllables containing harsh consonants or the occurrence of the same syllable at the end of one word and the beginning of the next

cosmographia (‘cosmographía’), the description of the world

dialyton (‘dialiton’), see asyndeton

efflexigesis (‘exflexigesis’), the explanation or clearer exposition of things previously mentioned

ekbasis (‘ebasis’), a departure from the subject-matter, digression

ellipsis (‘eclipsis’), the omission of a word

emphasis, the use of a substantive entity instead of a moveable entity, such as mentioning a quality of a man instead of the man himself

epanalepsis (‘eparalemsis’), the same beginning and end to a line or stanza

epenthesis, the insertion of a vowel or a syllable in the middle of a word so that it conforms to metre

epimone (‘epimenon’), various types of repetition of words at the beginnings, in the middle or at the ends of lines

epitheton (‘epiteton’), epithet, a characterising adjective, placed before a proper noun

epizeuxis (‘epizeusis’), the repetition of a word

euphemismos, the replacement of a less prestigious with a more prestigious word

euphonia, the alteration of speech sounds to make them more pleasing to the ear

exallage, a difference in number between the noun subject and its verb

extrinsecus (ON fyrir útan ǫnd ok líkam ‘extrinsic to mind or body’), a type of antonomasia in which a proper name is replaced by an extrinsic comparison, e.g. the person’s circumstances; also a type of epitheton in which a characterising adjective extrinsic to mind and body is used, and which is subdivided into the three categories ab actu, ab euentu and a loco, see s.v.

gradatio, see climax

hendiadys (‘endiadís’), the separation of a single indivisible entity into two separate entities or the combination of two separate entities into one

homoeoptoton (‘omocopton’), a rhetorical figure which holds together different words in a clause by means of the same case

homoeoteleuton (‘omolemiton’), the repetition of syllables with the same ending

homopatia (‘antopazia’), a rhetorical figure in which two things are joined together in such a way that one does what the other does

homophesis (‘emophasis’), explanation of an obscure thing by something equally obscure or more obscure

hypallage (‘ypallage’), exchange of the natural relations of two words in a statement

hyperbaton (‘yperbaton’), the alteration of the usual word order

hyperbole (‘yperbola’), the exaggeration of truth beyond that which is believable

hypozeuxis (‘ypozeusis’), the use of many verbs with a single subject

icon, the comparison between two persons or their characteristics

ironia, irony, meaning the opposite of what is intended

jotacismus, the positioning of the glide [j] before, after or between vowels

litotes (‘liptota’), understatement, in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite

macrologia, a long sentence containing matter irrelevant to the subject at hand

metaphora, metaphor, the transfer of words or things into another meaning

metaplasmus, transformation of correct speech or writing for stylistic reasons, i.e. the alteration of a word by the addition, deletion or transposition of syllables

metathesis (‘metatesis’), the transposition of letters

metonymia (‘metanomie’), metonymy, the substitution of a word referring to an attribute or adjunct for the whole thing that is meant

mytacismus (‘moytacismus’), the placement of <m> between two vowels (in Latin the term refers to where <m> occurs at the end of a word followed by a word starting in a vowel or <m>)

oliopomenon (‘onopomenon’) or brachilogia, the use of few words in order to tell great stories

onomatopoeia (‘omotopeion’), a noun made from sound, i.e. imitating a sound

parabola, the reference to one entity in terms of another dissimilar one

paradigma, the juxtaposition of entities which are afterwards distinguished in form

parhomoeon (‘paranomeon’), the repetition of the same initial letter in several words, i.e. alliteration

paronomasia, the juxtaposition of words with similar sounds but dissimilar meanings

pars pro toto, ‘part for whole’, a figure of speech in which part of something is used to refer to the whole thing

perissologia (‘perisologia’), the superfluous addition of words

pleonasmos, a syllable, word, or phrase that is superfluous

prolepsis (‘prolemsis’), the anticipation of multiple things which are later recorded singly

prosopopoeia (‘prosopophía’), a rhetorical figure in which a lifeless thing is addressed by a person or the other way around, or two inanimate entities address one another

prothesis (‘próthesis’), the addition of a letter or syllable to the beginning of a word, a type of metaplasmus

sarcasmos, sarcasm, malevolent and unfriendly mockery

schemata lexeos (‘scemalexeos’), ornamentation of language or speech

schesis onomaton (‘scesisonomaton’), the succession of several clauses which consist of nouns in the same cases

soloecismus (‘soluecismus’), grammatical irregularity, e.g. change of tense, or plural used in place of singular

syllepsis (‘silemsis’), a rhetorical figure in which one item represents several of the same kind

synacrismos (‘simatrismos’), the union of praise and faults in one stanza or more in Old Norse and in one chapter or verse in Latin

synaloephe (‘sínalimphe’), the omission of a vowel

synchysis (‘sinthesis’), the confusion of word order, a type of hyperbaton

synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a semantically narrower term is substituted for a broader one, or vice versa

synepthesis (‘sineptesis’), an inappropriate exchange of either grammatical number or person

systole (‘sistola’), the shortening of a long syllable

tautologia (‘tantologia’), the variation of what has been said before

teretema (‘therethema’), a rhetorical figure in which a series of questions about the same thing is asked and replied to in the same fashion

tmesis (‘temesis’, ‘themesis’), the separation of a word or compound into two parts, with another word or words between them

topographia (‘tophographia’), the description of, or reference to, a specific place

versus dissoni, a discordant verse

zeugma (‘zeuma’), a rhetorical figure in which a word or phrase belongs to more than one part of the sentence

References