Word.ws English Dictionary

polyptoton

/ˌpɑ.ləpˈtoʊˌtɑn/

polyptoton noun: a stylistic scheme in which words from the same root are used together, or a word is repeated in a different inflection or case.

Noun

polyptoton (countable and uncountable, plural polyptota or polyptotons)

  1. (rhetoric) A stylistic scheme in which words from the same root are used together, or a word is repeated in a different inflection or case.
    • A Polyptoton still the same word places,
      If sense require it, in two different cases.1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Turns.] Polyptoton.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 84

Forms of polyptoton

pluralpolyptota
pluralpolyptotons

Origin of polyptoton

Via Latin, from Ancient Greek πολύπτωτον (polúptōton), neuter of πολύπτωτος (polúptōtos, “having many cases”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + πίπτω (píptō, “to fall”).

Words formed from polyptoton

Questions about polyptoton

What does polyptoton mean?
Polyptoton means a stylistic scheme in which words from the same root are used together, or a word is repeated in a different inflection or case.
What part of speech is polyptoton?
Polyptoton is a noun.
How do you pronounce polyptoton?
Polyptoton is pronounced /ˌpɑ.ləpˈtoʊˌtɑn/ (US).
What is the plural of polyptoton?
The plural of polyptoton is polyptota.

Words near polyptoton in the dictionary

  1. polypteroid
  2. polypteroids
  3. polyptota
  4. polyptote
  5. polyptotes
  6. polyptoton
  7. polyptotonic
  8. polyptotons
  9. polyptych
  10. polyptychs
  11. polypurine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: polyptoton (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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