‖ isocolon Gr. Rhet. and Pros.
(aɪsəʊˈkəʊlən)
[f. Gr. ἰσόκωλ-ος, -ον of equal members or clauses, f. ἰσο-, iso- + κῶλον limb, member, colon. Also in mod.F. (Littré).]
a. The use of equal ‘cola’ or members of a period in immediate succession. b. An isocolic period.
| 1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes sig. D5 Isocolon. Compar, euen or equall, is when the oracion hath in it the partes of the whyche we spake before (Articulus, Dialyton), and that they be made of euen number of sillables: but thys equalitie must not stand by numbryng of them, but by perceyuyng of it in the mynd. 1706 Phillips, Isocolon, a Term us'd when two Sentences are alike in length. 1941 English Studies XXIII. 16 When we start looking for Pettie's isocolon we do find an average of 8·5 words, but there is much more irregularity than in Lyly. 1962 [see agnomination 2]. |