zeugma
/ˈzjuːɡ.mə/
"zeugma" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zeugma” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
Corpus desk
Index EN-zeugma · zeugma · English
zeugma · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "Z" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zeugma |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈzjuːɡ.mə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “zeugma” in English
Rare enough to double-check
zeugma is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈzjuːɡ.mə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for zeugma in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα (zeûgma, “yoking; a bond, a band”), from ζεύγνυμι (zeúgnumi, “to yoke; to join”), from ζεῦγος (zeûgos, “a yoke”). The correct English form is zeugma, spelled Z-E-U-G-M-A.
Definition
- 1The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
- 2Syllepsis.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how zeugma appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The existence of zeugmas suggests the rule of transitivity. Zeugmas appear incorrect because they embody an allegedly univocal use of a term in a way which violated^([sic]) the rule of transitivity.
Thus I would describe 'He took his leave and the wrong umbrella' as zeugma, but not 'He took his hat and umbrella'. Zeugma is an important element in Chaucer's poetic technique, not because he uses it, but because he so regularly turns it down.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα (zeûgma, “yoking; a bond, a band”), from ζεύγνυμι (zeúgnumi, “to yoke; to join”), from ζεῦγος (zeûgos, “a yoke”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.