anastrophe

a·nas·tro·phe

 (ə-năs′trə-fē)

n.

Inversion of the normal syntactic order of words; for example, "Matter too soft a lasting mark to bear" (Alexander Pope).


[Late Latin anastrophē, from Greek, from anastrephein, to turn upside-down : ana-, ana- + strephein, to turn; see streb(h)- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

anastrophe

(əˈnæstrəfɪ)

n

(Rhetoric) rhetoric another term for inversion3

[C16: from Greek, from anastrephein to invert]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•nas•tro•phe

(əˈnæs trə fi)

n.

reversal of the usual order of words for rhetorical effect.

[1570–80; < Greek: turning back.]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

anastrophe

a rhetorical device in which the usual word order of a phrase or sentence is reversed.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

anastrophe

Another word for inversion.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited