First Known Use: 1871
Dictionary
chiasmus
noun chi·as·mus \kī-ˈaz-məs, kē-\
Definition of CHIASMUS
: an inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases (as in Goldsmith's to stop too fearful, and too faint to go)
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Origin of CHIASMUS
New Latin, from Greek chiasmos, from chiazein to mark with a chi
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