Today's Word "zeugma"
Published in Vocabulary
zeugma \ZUG-meh\ (noun) - The Greek correlate of the Latinate word, "syllepsis" [si-'lep-sis], a syntactic construction in which a single word governs at least two other words or phrases even though its sense applies to them in different ways, e.g. "He flew off the handle and straight to Rio."
"Miss Nipper shook her head and a tin canister, and began, unasked, to make the tea." - Charles Dickens, 'Dombey and Son'
"Councilwoman Hamilton would rather press flesh than clothes."
"Jean drove his car recklessly and his wife crazy."
From Greek zeugma "a bond," which devolved from earlier *yeug-, also the origin of English "yoke." Latin jugum "yoke" ([j] was pronounce [y]) is another descendent, one responsible for English "jugular," "conjugate," and "subjugate." The same root became Sanskrit yugam "yoke" and yoga "union." English "jostle" is a former diminutive of "joust," borrowed from Latin iuxtare "to be next to" from iuxta "nearby," another relative. The nasalized variant gave us English "join," "joint," "junction" and Spanish "junta," all originating in Latin iungere "to join."
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