aposiopesis

== English == === Etymology === From Latin aposiopesis, from Ancient Greek ἀποσιώπησις (aposiṓpēsis), from ἀποσιωπάω (aposiōpáō, “be silent”), from ἀπό (apó, “off, from”) + σιωπάω (siōpáō, “to be silent”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌæpəsaɪəˈpiːsɪs/ Hyphenation: apo‧si‧o‧pe‧sis === Noun === aposiopesis (countable and uncountable, plural aposiopeses) (rhetoric) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—). Synonym: (obsolete) reticence 1938, Samuel Beckett, Murphy, London: George Routledge & Sons, OCLC 939632162; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1957, OCLC 855435111, page 164: “Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind. ==== Hypernyms ==== brachylogy ==== Translations ==== === See also === adynaton anapodoton ellipsis or else === References === Silva Rhetoricae === Further reading === “aposiopesis”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. aposiopesis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia