Definition of zeugma Zeugma

zeug•ma

We found 5 definitions of zeugma from 4 different sources.

What does zeugma mean?

WordNet

Noun

Plural: zeugmas

zeugma - use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one; "`Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma"

figure of speech, trope, image, figure language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

zeugma (Noun)
The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
zeugma (Noun)
Syllepsis.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

zeugma (n.)
A figure by which an adjective or verb, which agrees with a nearer word, is, by way of supplement, referred also to another more remote; as, "hic illius arma, hic currus fuit;" where fuit, which agrees directly with currus, is referred also to arma.