Anacoluthons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of grammatical error where the ending of a sentence does not align logically with its beginning
2. A syntactical inconsistency that occurs when the initial structure of a sentence is abandoned before conclusion
3. An instance of a lack of agreement between different parts of a sentence, leading to confusion in interpretation

Etymology: "Anacoluthon" is a Greek grammatical term, and its plural "anacoluthons" is simply the regular English form. The Greek "anakólouthon" meant "without sequence" or "anomalous," used of inflections or constructions that did not follow the expected pattern. It is built from "a(n)-," meaning "un-," and "akólouthos," meaning "following," so the core idea is something that fails to follow on from what came before. The term passed into Late Latin as "anacolūthon" and from there into English, where it has kept its technical sense: a break in a sentence's grammar, where the speaker starts one construction and then switches to another partway through. Spoken language is full of these, as in "The man I met him yesterday was nice," where the subject is named and then picked up again with a pronoun.