Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

anaphora

Pronunciation: /əˈnaf(ə)rə/

Definition of anaphora

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1 Grammar the use of a word referring back to a word used earlier in a text or conversation, to avoid repetition, for example the pronouns he, she, it, and they and the verb do in I like it and so do they. Compare with cataphora.
  • 2 Rhetoric the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
  • 3 Christian Church the part of the Eucharist which contains the consecration, anamnesis, and communion.

Derivatives

anaphoric

Pronunciation: /ˌanəˈfɒrɪk/

adjective

anaphorically

Pronunciation: /ˌanəˈfɒrɪk(ə)lɪ/

adverb

Origin:

late 16th century: anaphora (sense 1), anaphora (sense 2) via Latin from Greek, 'repetition', from ana- 'back' + pherein 'to bear'; anaphora (sense 3) from late Greek

anaphora in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of anaphora in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

merrythought

/ /
noun
the wishbone of a bird …