hendiadys

[ hen-dahy-uh-dis ]

noun

, Rhetoric.

1. a figure in which a complex idea is expressed by two words connected by a copulative conjunction: “to look with eyes and envy” instead of “with envious eyes.”

hendiadys

/ hɛnˈdaɪədɪs /

noun

1. a rhetorical device by which two nouns joined by a conjunction, usually and, are used instead of a noun and a modifier, as in to run with fear and haste instead of to run with fearful haste

Word History and Origins

Origin of hendiadys¹

1580–90; < Medieval Latin; alteration of Greek phrase hèn dià dyoîn one through two, one by means of two

Word History and Origins

Origin of hendiadys¹

C16: from Medieval Latin, changed from Greek phrase hen dia duoin, literally: one through two

Example Sentences

The MS. authority is decidedly in favour of this, the more difficult reading; and the hendiadys is not more violent than those in Georg. ii.

From Project Gutenberg

This line is a type of hendiadys, the first half of the line being redefined by the second.

From Project Gutenberg