zeugma

noun

zeug·ma ˈzüg-mə

plural zeugmas

: the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each word in a different sense (as "opened" in "opened the door and her heart to the stray kitten") or makes sense with only one word (as "rolling" in "rolling lightning and thunder")

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Zeugma, like the pun, is economical: it contracts two sentences into one . . . it links unrelated terms - mental with moral, abstract with physical, high with low - and thus generates surprise. (Walter Redfern, Puns) "Zeugma," which has been a part of the English language since the 15th century, comes from Greek, where it literally means "joining." The Greek word has another connection to English as well. In the early 1970s, a chemistry professor named Paul Lauterbur developed a technique for producing images of internal organs. He called it "zeugmatography," because it involved the joining of magnetic fields. Lauterbur was awarded a Nobel Prize, but the name he chose didn’t stick. The technique is known today as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English zeuma, from Medieval Latin, from Latin zeugma, from Greek, literally, joining, from zeugnynai to join; akin to Latin jungere to join — more at yoke

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of zeugma was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century