aposiopesis en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌæpəsaɪəˈpiːsɪs/
Etymology
From Latin aposiopesis, from Ancient Greek ἀποσιώπησις (aposiṓpēsis), from ἀποσιωπάω (aposiōpáō, “be silent”), from ἀπό (apó, “off, from”) + σιωπάω (siōpáō, “to be silent”).
Meanings
-
(countable, rhetoric, uncountable) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—).
“If you are not—” The aposiopesis was icy.
1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:“Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.
1938, Samuel Beckett, Murphy, London: George Routledge & Sons, OCLC 939632162; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1957, OCLC 855435111, page 164This somewhat abrupt ending (or aposiopesis) is caused by a previous movement from the figure on the bed.
1982, John Fowles, Mantissa, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN:Aposiopesis leaves imperfect sense; And, sometimes, such a pause speaks eloquence.
1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Aposiopesis.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 57:—"My ſiſter, mayhap," quoth my uncle Toby, "does not chooſe to let a man come ſo near her ****" Make this daſh—'tis an Apoſiopeſis.—Take the daſh away, and write Backſide,—'tis Bawdy.
1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter VI, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume II, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 49:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| aposiopeses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
Relateds
ellipsis · anapodoton · adynaton · or else
Synonyms
Translations (20)
la reticentia (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · es precesión (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · cmn 頓絕句 /顿绝句 (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · fr réticence (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · es aposiopesis (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · it aposiopesi (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · pl aposjopeza (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · la praecīsiō (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · pt aposiopese (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · fi aposiopeesi (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · it reticenza (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · fr aposiopèse (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · el αποσιώπηση (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · pt reticência (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · de Aposiopese (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · tl untol (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · tr kesiklenme (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · da aposiopese (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · pl apozjopeza (abrupt breaking-off in speech) · ru апозиопе́зис (abrupt breaking-off in speech)