anaphora
/ˌænəˈfɔɹə/noun
anaphora is spelled A-N-A-P-H-O-R-A: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 106,501st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, anaphora means “The repetition of a phrase at the beginning of phrases, sentences, or verses, used for emphasis” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of anaphora is anaphoras.
How many letters and syllables are in anaphora?
| Letters | 8: A-N-A-P-H-O-R-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 106,501st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is anaphora?
Anaphora appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 106,501st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce anaphora?
- /ˌænəˈfɔɹə/
- /əˈnæf(ə)ɹə/
Anaphora has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-anaphora.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of anaphora
- anaphoras plural
- anaphors
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does anaphora mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The repetition of a phrase at the beginning of phrases, sentences, or verses, used for emphasis.
- 2
An expression that refers to a preceding expression.
- 3
The most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy or the Mass during which the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as body and blood of Christ.
- 4
plural of anaphor
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Anaphora in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rhetoric: repetition of a phrase used for emphasis:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does anaphora come from?
From Ancient Greek ἀναφορά (anaphorá, “a carrying back”), from ἀνά (aná, “up”) + φέρω (phérō, “I carry”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).