merism

English
Examples (polar extremes)

heaven and earth (the universe)
high and low (everywhere)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μερισμός (merismós). Compare μέρος (méros, “part”).

Examples (list of parts)

lock, stock, and barrel (the whole gun)
signed, sealed, and delivered (the whole process of communicating)

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈmɛrɪz(ə)m/

Noun

merism (countable and uncountable, plural merisms)

  1. (literature, rhetoric) A reference to something by its polar extremes, as in "we searched high and low".
  2. (literature, rhetoric) A reference to something by a list of its parts.

Translations

See also
  • Category:English merisms

Anagrams
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