Standard Lemma guide

zeugma

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈzjuːɡ.mə/
  • /ˈzuːɡ.mə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Syllepsis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • `Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: trope, figure of speech, figure, image

Narrower terms: syllepsis

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα (zeûgma, “yoking; a bond, a band”), from ζεύγνυμι (zeúgnumi, “to yoke; to join”), from ζεῦγος (zeûgos, “a yoke”).

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Aragonese: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Catalan: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Czech: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Danish: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Esperanto: zeŭgmo — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Finnish: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Finnish: iestys — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • French: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • German: Zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Greek: ζεύγμα (zévgma) — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Ancient Greek: ζεῦγμα (zeûgma) — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Indonesian: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Irish: séagma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Japanese: 軛語法 (kubiki gohō) — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Polish: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Portuguese: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Russian: зе́вгма (zévgma) — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Serbo-Croatian: зеугма — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Serbo-Croatian: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Spanish: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun
  • Swedish: zeugma — using a word to apply to more than one noun