Amphibology

Amphibology
Amphibology Am`phi*bol"o*gy ([a^]m`f[i^]*b[-o]l"[-o]*j[y^]), n.; pl. {Amphibologies} (-j[i^]z). [L. amphibologia, for amphibolia, fr. Gr. 'amfiboli`a, with the ending -logia as if fr. Gr. 'amfi`bolos ambiguous + lo`gos speech: cf. F. amphibologie. See {Amphiboly}.] A phrase, discourse, or proposition, susceptible of two interpretations; and hence, of uncertain meaning. It differs from equivocation, which arises from the twofold sense of a single term. [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Amphibology — or amphiboly (from the Greek amphibolia ) is an ambiguous grammatical structure in a sentence.ExamplesTeenagers shouldn t be allowed to drive. It s getting too dangerous on the streets.This could be taken to mean the teenagers will be in danger,… …   Wikipedia

  • amphibology — [am fib′ə lē] n. pl. amphibolies [am΄fə bäl′ə jē] n. amphibologies [ME amphibologie < LL amphibologia (altered after words ending in logia, LOGY) < L amphibolia < Gr, ambiguity < amphiballein: see AMPHIBOLE] 1. double or doubtful… …   English World dictionary

  • amphibology — noun (plural gies) Etymology: Middle English amphibologie, from Late Latin amphibologia, alteration of Latin amphibolia, from Greek, from amphibolos Date: 14th century a sentence or phrase (as “nothing is good enough for you”) that can be… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • amphibology — amphibological /am fib euh loj i keuhl/, adj. amphibologically, adv. /am feuh bol euh jee/, n., pl. amphibologies. amphiboly. [1325 75; ME amphibologie < LL amphibologia. See AMPHIBOLY, LOGY] * * * …   Universalium

  • amphibology — noun /amfɪˈbɒlədʒi/ Amphiboly. In Athens men learnd [...] to resolve a sophisticall argument, and to confound the imposture and amphibologie of words, captiously enterlaced together [...] …   Wiktionary

  • amphibology — n. vagueness in a language; phrase or sentence which can be explained in many ways; ambiguous phrase or sentence (Grammar) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • amphibology — [ˌamfɪ bɒlədʒi] noun (plural amphibologies) a phrase or sentence that is grammatically ambiguous. Origin ME: from OFr. amphibologie, from late L. amphibologia, from L. amphibolia, from Gk amphibolos ambiguous …   English new terms dictionary

  • amphibology — am·phi·bol·o·gy …   English syllables

  • amphibology — am•phi•bol•o•gy [[t]ˌæm fəˈbɒl ə dʒi[/t]] n. pl. gies amphiboly • Etymology: 1325–75; ME amphibologie < LL amphibologia. See amphiboly, logy …   From formal English to slang

  • amphibology — /æmfəˈbɒlədʒi/ (say amfuh boluhjee) noun (plural amphibologies) ambiguity of speech, especially from uncertainty of the grammatical construction rather than of the meaning of the words. {Late Latin amphibologia; replacing Latin amphibolia (see… …  

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