Enjamber

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To carry the grammatical structure of a sentence or clause over from one line of verse to the next, creating a continuation beyond the line break
2. To extend a syntactic unit across a line ending in poetry, allowing the phrase or clause to flow into the following line without pause
3. To continue a grammatical phrase or statement beyond the end of a poetic line, breaking the expected rhythmic or structural boundary

Etymology: In French, "enjamber" means to stride over something, from "en-" (in, on) and "jambe" (leg). To enjamb is to step across a boundary, as a walker crosses a ditch or a stream. Poets borrowed the image for the line break. When a sentence runs past the end of one line into the next, the thought strides over the edge of the line rather than stopping at it. The term names that overstep, and its opposite is the end-stopped line, where the sense pauses at the line's end.