aposiopesis

English

WOTD – 13 March 2016

Etymology

From Latin aposiopesis, from Ancient Greek ἀποσιώπησις (aposiṓpēsis), from ἀποσιωπάω (aposiōpáō, “be silent”), from ἀπό (apó, “off, from”) + σιωπάω (siōpáō, “to be silent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæpəsaɪəˈpiːsɪs/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: apo‧si‧o‧pe‧sis

Examples (breaking off in speech)
I can't even ... But didn't she— How could you ...

Noun

aposiopesis (countable and uncountable, plural aposiopeses)

1. (rhetoric) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—).

   Synonym: (obsolete) reticence

   • 1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter VI, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume II, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 123:

     —"My ſiſter, mayhap," quoth my uncle Toby, "does not chooſe to let a man come ſo near her ****" Make this daſh—'tis an Apoſiopeſis.—Take the daſh away, and write Backſide,—'tis Bawdy.

   • [1835, L[arret] Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, →OCLC, page 57:

     Aposiopesis leaves imperfect sense;
     And, sometimes, such a pause speaks eloquence.]

   • 1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:

     “If you are not—” The aposiopesis was icy.

   • 1938, Samuel Beckett, Murphy, London: George Routledge & Sons, OCLC 939632162; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1957, OCLC 855435111, page 164:

     “Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.

   • 1982, John Fowles, Mantissa, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN:

     This somewhat abrupt ending (or aposiopesis) is caused by a previous movement from the figure on the bed.

Hypernyms

• brachylogy

Translations

abrupt breaking-off in speech

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頓絕句／顿绝句 (dùnjuéjù)

• Danish: aposiopese
• Finnish: aposiopeesi
• French: aposiopèse (fr) f, réticence (fr) f
• German: Aposiopese (de) f
• Greek: αποσιώπηση (el) f (aposiópisi)
• Italian: aposiopesi (it) f, reticenza (it) f
• Latin: praecīsiō f, reticentia f
• Polish: aposjopeza f, apozjopeza f
• Portuguese: aposiopese f, reticência (pt) f
• Russian: апозиопе́зис (ru) m (apoziopézis)
• Spanish: reticencia (es)
• Tagalog: untol
• Turkish: kesiklenme

See also

• adynaton
• anapodoton
• ellipsis
• or else

References

• Silva Rhetoricae

Further reading

• “aposiopesis”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• aposiopesis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia