Anastrophe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈnæstɹəfi/

Definitions

1. A stylistic choice in writing that involves reversing the conventional word order for rhetorical impact or artistic effect
2. A method in literature that rearranges the standard sequence of words to enhance meaning or create a memorable expression
3. A literary technique that alters the typical arrangement of words to emphasize a particular idea or create a distinct stylistic effect

Etymology: The Greek word "anastrophḗ" combined "ana-", meaning "up" or "back", with "strephō", meaning "to turn", so its basic sense was a turning back or a return. Greek writers applied it to the act of turning around or returning, and only later did it become a term for reversing the normal order of words in a sentence. English took the word directly from Greek as a grammatical and rhetorical term, which is why it looks so different from the everyday words that came through French. In a sentence like "Down the hill ran the boy," the verb comes before its subject, and that reversal is what the term names. Its meaning in English therefore stays close to the original idea of turning something back on itself.

Synonyms: inversion, transposition