Zeugma
German, noun[ˈt͡sɔɪ̯ɡma]
Zeugma is spelled Z-E-U-G-M-A (6 letters) and appears about once in every 28 million words in written German, the 305,454th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Zeugma is a German neuter noun meaning “zeugma” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “rhetorische Figur, die eine Mehrdeutigkeit oder die unterschiedliche Verwendungsweise eines Wortes nutzt, um…”.
What does Zeugma mean in English?
noun
- 1
neuterzeugma
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. rhetorische Figur, die eine Mehrdeutigkeit oder die unterschiedliche Verwendungsweise eines Wortes nutzt, um einen überraschenden Effekt zu erreichen (zum Beispiel: er nahm seinen Rucksack und Abschied)
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of Zeugma
- Zeugmas genitive
- Zeugmata plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Zeugma?
- [ˈt͡sɔɪ̯ɡma]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Zeugma
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Zeugma in German?
Zeugma appears about once in every 28 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).