Glossary of rhetorical terms

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Rhetorical Theory is a subject rife with jargon and special terminology. This page explains commonly used rhetorical terms in alphabetical order. The brief definitions here are intended to serve as a quick reference rather than an in-depth discussion. For more information, click the terms.


Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


[edit] A

  • Accumulatio. The emphasis or summary of previously made points or inferences by excessive praise or accusation.
  • Acutezza. Wit or wordplay used in rhetoric.
  • Adjunction. When a verb is placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence instead of in the middle. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "At the beginning, as follows: 'Fades physical beauty with disease or age.' At the end, as follows: 'Either with disease or age physical beauty fades.'"
  • Aesthetics. The examination of symbolic expression to determine its rhetorical possibilities.
  • Aetiologia. Giving a cause or a reason.
  • Affectus. A term used by the Italian Humanists of the Renaissance to describe the source of emotions or passions in the human mind.
  • Alloisis. The breaking down of a subject into its alternatives.
  • Ambigua. An ambiguous statement used in making puns.
  • Amplificatio. An all-purpose term for all the ways an argument can be expanded and enhanced.
  • Amplification. The act and the means of extending thoughts or statements to increase rhetorical effect, to add importance, or to make the most of a thought or circumstance.
  • Anacoenosis. A speaker asks his or her audience or opponents for their opinion or answer to the point in question.
  • Anacoluthon. An abrupt change of syntax within a sentence. (What I want is — like anybody cares.)
  • Anadiplosis. Repeating the last word of one clause or phrase to begin the next.
  • Analogy. The use of a similar or parallel case or example to reason or argue a point.
  • Anaphora. From the Greek ἀναφέρω, "I repeat". A succession of sentences beginning with the same word or group of words.
  • Anecdote. A brief narrative describing an interesting or amusing event.
  • Animorum motus. The emotions.
  • Antanaclasis. From Greek ̩ ̩ἀντανάκλασις, a figure of speech involving a pun, consisting of the repeated use of the same word, each time with different meanings.
  • Antiptosis. The substitution of one case for another.
  • Antistrophe. In rhetoric, repeating the last word in successive phrases. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'Since the time when from our state concord disappeared, liberty disappeared, good faith disappeared, friendship disappeared, the common weal disappeared.'" Also see epiphora.
  • Antithesis. The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, or grammatical structures; the second stage of the dialectic process.
  • Aphaeresis. The omission of a syllable from the beginning of a word.
  • Apocope. The omission of the last letter or syllable of a word.
  • Apophasis / Apophesis. Pretending to deny something as a means of implicitly affirming it. Mentioning something by saying that you won't mention it.
  • Aporia. An attempt to discredit an opposing viewpoint by casting doubt on it.
  • Aposiopesis. An abrupt stop in the middle of a sentence; used by a speaker to convey unwillingness or inability to complete a thought or statement.
  • Apostrophe. From Greek ἀποστροφή, a figure of speech consisting of a sudden turn in a text towards an exclamatory address to an imaginary person or a thing.
  • Appeals. Rhetorical devices used to enhance the plausibility of one's argument; Aristotle's appeals included ethos, logos, and pathos.
  • Arete. Virtue, excellence of character, qualities that would be inherent in a "natural leader," a component of ethos.
  • Argument. Discourse characterized by reasons advanced to support conclusions.
  • Argumentum ad hominem. Using what you know about your opponent's character as a basis for your argument.
  • Ars arengandi. Teaching of forensic speaking during the Medieval rhetorical era.
  • Ars dictaminis. The art of writing letters, introduced and taught during the Medieval rhetorical era.
  • Ars poetria. Medieval teaching of grammar and style through analysis of poetry.
  • Ars praedicandi. The art of preaching based on rhetorical ideas and introduced during the Medieval rhetorical era during an increasing intersection between rhetoric and religion.
  • Artistic proofs. Rhetorically-produced methods for persuasion. For Aristotle, three possibilities would be ethos, pathos, and logos.
  • Audience. Real, imagined, invoked, or ignored, this is a concept that seems to be at the very center of the intersections of composing and rhetoric.
  • Auxesis. To place words or phrases in a certain order to obtain a climactic effect.
  • Axioms. The point where scientific reasoning starts. Principles that are not questioned.

[edit] B

  • Backing. Supporting an argument's merit.
  • Barbarismus. Mispronunciation or unnatural word-usage.
  • Bases. The issues at question in a judicial case.
  • Bathos. An emotional appeal that inadvertently evokes laughter or ridicule.
  • Bdelygma. Expression of hatred or contempt.
  • Belles lettres. Written works considered quality because they are pleasing to the senses.
  • Belletristic Movement. Movement of rhetoric in the late 18th and early 19th centuries emphasizing stylistic considerations of rhetoric. It also expanded rhetoric into a study of literature and literary criticism and writing.
  • Brachylogia. Brevity of diction
  • Brevitas. Concise expression
  • Burden of proof. Theory of argument giving the obligation of proving a case to the challenging party.

[edit] C

  • Canon. A term often used to discuss significant literary works in a specific field, used by Cicero to outline five significant parts of the rhetorical composition process.
  • Captatio benevoluntatiae. Latin term for the part of a letter which secures the goodwill of the recipient.
  • Catachresis. The inexact use of a similar word in place of the proper one to create an unlikely metaphor. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'The power of man is short'" or "'the long wisdom in the man.'"
  • Charisma. An attribute that allows a speaker's words to become powerful.
  • Chiasmus. From the name of the Greek letter "χ", a figure of speech consisting of the contrasting of two structurally parallel syntactic phrases arranged "cross-wise", i.e. in such a way that the second is in reverse order from the first.
  • Circa rem. Latin: The circumstances surrounding the act in one Roman topical system.
  • Claim1. A primary point being made to support an argument. 2. Stephen Toulmin: the resulting conclusion to an argument.
  • Classicism. A revival in the interest of classical antiquity languages and texts.
  • Climax. Climax occurs when words or sentences are used to increase weight by mounting degrees in parallel construction.
  • Colon. A colon (Greek κῶλον) is a rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
  • Common Topics. Arguments and approaches useful in rhetorical settings; koinoi topoi.
  • Conclusio. Latin: A letter's conclusion.
  • Confirmatio. Latin: The section of a judicial speech (in Roman rhetorical theory) that offers evidence supporting the claims given during the statement of facts.
  • Confutatio. Latin: Counterargument in Roman rhetorical theory.
  • Constraints. Referring to "persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence." Originally used by Lloyd Bitzer.
  • Contingency. In rhetoric, it relates to the contextual circumstances that do not allow an issue to be settled with complete certainty.
  • Context. The circumstances surrounding an issue that should be considered during its discussion.
  • Conversio. Latin: Varrying sentence structure to discover its most agreeable form.
  • Conversation model. The model, in critique of traditional rhetoric by Sally Gearhart, that maintains the goal of rhetoric is to persuade others to accept your own personal view as correct.
  • Cookery. Plato believed rhetoric was to truth as cookery was to medicine. Cookery disguises itself as medicine and appears to be more pleasing, when in actuality it has no real benefit.
  • Critical theory. Systematically analyzing any means of communication for hidden assumptions and connotations.

[edit] D

  • Deconstruction. Analyzing communication artifacts by scrutinizing their meanings and related assumptions, with the goal of determining the social and systemic connotations behind their structure.
  • Deduction. Moving from an overall hypothesis to infer something specific about that hypothesis.
  • Delectare, To delight; viewed by Cicero as one of the three goals of rhetoric.
  • Delivery. Canon #5 in Cicero's list of rhetorical canons; traditionally linked to oral rhetoric, refers to how a speech is given (including tone of voice and nonverbal gestures, among others).
  • Demos. The population of an ancient Greek state, considered a political entity; population; the common people.
  • Dialectic. A rhetorical term that has been defined differently by Aristotle and Ramus, among others; generally, it means using verbal communication between people to discuss topics in order to come to an agreement about them.
  • Diallage. Establishing a single point with the use of several arguments.
  • Dispositio. In the classical theory of the production of speech Pronuntiatio dispositio refers to the stage of planning the structure and sequence of ideas. Often referred to as arrangement, the second of Cicero's five rhetorical canons.
  • Dissoi Logoi. Contradictory arguments.
  • Distribution. Dividing a whole subject into its various parts.
  • Divisio. To divide into categories or classes.
  • Docere. To teach; viewed by Cicero as one of the three goals of rhetoric.
  • Dramatistic. Kenneth Burke. Way to look at the nature of language stressing on language as an action. ex. uses expressions such as 'thou shalt' and 'thou shalt not."
  • Dysphemism. A term with negative associations for something in reality fairly innocuous or inoffensive.

[edit] E

  • Elocutio. In the classical theory of the production of a speech (Pronuntiatio), elocution refers to the stage of elaborating the wording of a text, using correct grammar and diction.
  • Enthymeme. A type of argument that is grounded in assumed commonalities between a rhetor and the audience. (For example: Claim 1: Bob is a person. Therefore, Claim 3: Bob is mortal. The assumption (unstated Claim 2) is that People are mortal.) A type of syllogism. Started by Aristotle.
  • Enumeratio. Making a point more forcibly by listing detailed causes or effects; to enumerate: count off or list one by one.
  • Epanaphora. In rhetoric, repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases for emphasis. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'To you must go the credit for this, to you are thanks due, to you will this act of yours bring glory.'"
  • Epideictic. Ceremonial rhetoric, such as might be found in a funeral or victory speech.
  • Epiphora. The repetition of a phrase or word at the end of several sentences or clauses. Also see anaphora.
  • Epistemology. Philosophical study directed at understanding how people gain knowledge.
  • Epistrophe. A succession of clauses, phrases or sentences that all end with the same word or group of words.
  • Epithet. A term used as a descriptive and qualifying substitute for the name of a person, place or thing.
  • Epizeuxis. Emphasizing an idea using one word repetition.
  • Ethos. A rhetorical appeal to an audience based on the speaker/writer's credibility.
  • Ethopoeia. The act of putting oneself into the character of another to convey that persons feelings and thoughts more vividly.
  • Euphemism. An innocuous, inoffensive or circumlocutory term or phrase for something unpleasant or obscene.
  • Evidence. In rhetoric, facts or testimony used to strengthen a claim.
  • Exemplum. The citation of an example, either truthful or fictitious.
  • Exigence. A rhetorical call to action; a situation that compels someone to speak out.
  • Exordium. The introductory (Lat: exordium, beginning) portion of an oration
  • Expression. applying the correct language to an argument.

[edit] F

  • Fable. A short allegorical story.
  • Facetiae. Latin, humor or wit
  • Facilitas . The improvising of effective oral or written language to suit any situation.
  • Faculty psychology. 18th Century, the mind contains faculties that include understanding, imagination, passion, and will.
  • False consciousness. Jurgen Habermas, a distorted view of reality, people, and the world.
  • Feminist Rhetoric. Rhetorical theory concerned with feminism and its critique of social structures.
  • Fictio. The attribution of rational traits to non-rational creatures.
  • Field-dependent. Stephen Toulmin's term, standards for assessing arguments that are specific to a certain field.
  • Field-invariant. Stephen Toulmin's term, starndards for assessing arguments that are not determined by the particular field.
  • Figure. Unusual arrangement of language that tries to achieve unique meaning for ideas.
  • Forensic Oratory. speaking in a courtroom.
  • Forum. Jim Porter's book on audience introduces this concept as a way to complicate our notions of audience and to help writers consider important factors that affect planning and composing.

[edit] G

  • Gens. Latin, an influential group of families
  • Genera. (Plural of genus) Classification by race, kind, or possession of similarities; discriptive of different types of oratory.
  • Graecismus. The use of Greek idiom.

[edit] H

  • Hermeneutics. The theoretical underpinnings of interpreting texts, usually religious or literary.
  • Heteroglossia. The many prolific languages of any culture.
  • Heuristics. Determining or applying the proper methods for investigation.
  • Homiologia. A tedious style or redundancy of style.
  • Homoioteleuton. From the Greek ομοιοτέλευτο (homios, "like" and teleute, "ending"). A figure of speech where adjacent or parallel words have similar endings.
  • Horismus. A brief and often antithetical definition.
  • Hyperbole. A figure of speech where emphasis is achieved through exaggeration, independently or through comparison. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'His body was as white as snow, his face burned like fire.'"
  • Hypophora. When a speaker asks aloud what his/her adversaries have to say for themselves or against the speaker, and then proceeds to answer the question. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'When he reminded you of your old friendship, were you moved? No, you killed him nevertheless, and with even greater eagerness. And then when his children grovelled at your feet, were you moved to pity? No, in your extreme cruelty you even prevented their father's burial.'"
  • Hypsos. Great or worthy writing, sometimes called sublime. Longinus's theme in On the Sublime.
  • Hypozeuxis. A sentence in which every clause has its own subject and verb.

[edit] I

  • Icon. Using imagery to create resemblance.
  • Identification. Connecting with a larger group through a shared interpretation or understanding of a larger concept; Kenneth Burke was one of the first people to use the term in this way.
  • Ideology. A way of understanding one's external surroundings.
  • Imitatio. Latin, imitation.
  • Inartistic proofs. Discovered information stemming from the raw data of experience.
  • Indefinite questions. In Quintlian, questions that are discussed without referring to anything specifically.
  • Indignatio. To arouse indignation in the audience.
  • Induction. Rhetorical method for coming to general conclusions through specific examples.
  • Ingenium. Latin, In Vico- the ability to understand similarities and relationships that is innate in all humans.
  • In re. Latin, arguments concerned with what actually happened.
  • Institutio Oratoria . Educational and rhetorical principles as described and prescribed in treatise by Quintillian.
  • Insultatio. Abusing a person to his/her face by using irony and derisive language.
  • Interlacement. Combining the figures Anistrophe and Epanaphora for rhetorical style and emphasis. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'Who are they who have often broken treaties? The Carthaginians. Who are they who have waged ware with severest cruelty? The Carthaginians.'"
  • Intersubjective agreements. agreements on the fair conduct of an argument among individuals participating in dialogue.
  • Invention. Described by Cicero as the process of determining "valid or seemingly valid arguments;" the first of his five rhetorical canons.
  • Invitational rhetoric. (Foss and Griffin) rhetoric that is not intended to persuade.
  • Ioci. Jokes, see Cicero's De Oratore and his theory of humor.
  • Irony. A deliberate contrast between indirect and direct meaning to draw attention to the opposite.
  • Isocolon. A string of phrases of corresponding structure and equal length.
  • Issues of definition. Things related to naming an act.
  • Issues of fact. Issues related to an act's occurrence.
  • Issues of quality. Issues related to the seriousness of an act.

[edit] J

  • Jargon. Highly technical language used by specific group.
  • Jian shi . Traveling political advisors common in ancient China.
  • Judicial. Type of oratory used to attack or defend someone.

[edit] K

  • Kairos. From the Greek word καιρος. Generally means, "timing" or "the right circumstances."
  • Kategoria. Greek for Accusation.
  • Koinoi topoi. Common topics; in a rhetoric situation, useful arguments and strategies.
  • Koinonia. To consult with your opponent or judge.
  • Kolakeia. Flattery; telling people what they want to hear while disregarding their best interests; employed by sophistic rhetoricians.

[edit] L

  • Latinitas. Stylistic feature involving the proper use of language.
  • Literae humanae. Academic disciplines that are known as the liberal arts: languages, philosophy, history, literature, music, art and certain abstact sciences.
  • Litotes. Stating a positive by negating the negative — a form of understatement. ("I am not unaware of your difficulties.")
  • Localism. A word, phrase, or custom particular to one's location.
  • Loci communes. Types of arguments. Quintillian trained orators to learn intellectual habits to access the arguments quickly.
  • Locution. Refers to the utterance of a statement.
  • Logical Proof. Arguments used to persuade audience. Reasoned.
  • Logos. Rhetorical appeals based on logic or reasoning.
  • Logology. Kenneth Burke. Study of the specific theological terms used. Not to find the truth or falseness of the statement, but why that particular word was chosen.

[edit] M

  • Major Premise. Statement in a syllogism. Generalization.
  • Magnanimity. Doing good to others, "its opposite is meanness of spirit" (from Aristotle's Rhetoric).
  • Material Fallacy. False notion concerning the subject matter of an argument.
  • Maxim. "A saying drawn from life, which shows concisely either what happens or ought to happen in life, for example: 'Every beginning is difficult.'" (from Rhetorica ad Herennium)
  • Memory. Described by Cicero as the "firm mental grasp of matter and words;" the fourth of his five rhetorical canons.
  • Meta-narratives. Universal theories positing to know all aspects of humanity.
  • Metaphor. A figure of speech where a word that normally applies to one thing is used to designate another for the sake of creating a mental picture. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'...he lightly breathed a favoring breath'".
  • Metonym. A figure of speech which substitues one part for the whole. For example, to count how many cattle in a herd, one counts the heads. To describe the herd, one would say, "There are fifty head of cattle." This does not mean there are only heads, but the head is substituting for the whole animal.
  • Metonymy. A figure of speech which substitutes one word or phrase for another with which it is closely associated. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "one should say 'wine' for 'Liber', 'wheat' for 'Ceres'."
  • Minor Premise. Statement in an argument.
  • Modus inveniendi. Latin, in St Augustine, material used to understand the scriptures.
  • Modus proferendi. Latin, in St. Augustine, expressing ideas found within the scriptures.
  • Moral Reasoning. Reasoning employed in rhetoric that determines a conclusion based on evidence. Used in issues of ethics, religion, economics, and politics.
  • Motive. Something that plays a role in one's decision to act.
  • Movere. To persuade; viewed by Cicero as one of the three goals of rhetoric.

[edit] N

  • Narratio. A presentation of essential facts in a judicial speech.
  • Narration. Story telling, involving the elements of time, place, actor, action, cause and manner.
  • Necessary Cause. Cause without which effect couldn't/wouldn't have occurred.
  • Negatio. To negate or deny.
  • Neoplatonism. School of thought emanating from the works of Plato and Aristotle in early B.C.E. Rome.
  • Noema. Speech that is deliberately subtle or obscure.
  • Nomos. Greek, a social custom or convention.
  • Non Sequitur. A statement bearing no relationship to the preceding context.
  • Notaries. Secretaries trained in rhetoric for dealing with the agreements that were needed for commercial cities in Italy to function.

[edit] O

  • Oictos. To show pity or compassion.
  • Ominatio. A prophecy of evil.
  • Onomatopoeia. Words that imitate the sounds, objects, or actions they refer to. (ex. "buzz", "hullabaloo," "bling")
  • Opening. First part of discourse. Should gain audiences' attention.
  • Optatio. A wish exclaimed.
  • Orcos. An oath.

[edit] P

  • Paradeigma. Greek, argument created by a list of examples that leads to a probable generalized idea.
  • Paralipsis. When a rhetor refuses to continue with their current discussion, or passes over the rest of the conversation, or admits that they do not know what else to say. For example, (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'Your boyhood, indeed, which you dedicated to intemperance of all kinds, I would discuss, if I thought this the right time. But at the present I advisedly leave that aside. This too I pass by, that the tribunes have reported you as irregular in military service.'"
  • Parallel Syntax. repetition of similiar sentence structures.
  • Paronomasia. A play on words, often for humorous effect.
  • Particular audience. In Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, the actual audience the orator addresses.
  • Pathos. Greek, the emotional appeal to an audience in an argument. One of Aristotle's three proofs.
  • Perfectus orator. Latin, a complete orator.
  • Periphrasis. The substitution of many or several words where one would suffice; usually to avoid using that particular word.
  • Peroratio. Latin, the last section of a judicial speech were the speaker is the strongest.
  • Personification. A figure of speech that gives human characteristics or inanimate objects, or represents an absent person as being present. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'But if this invincible city should now give utterance to her voice, would she not speak as follows?'"
  • Petitio. Latin, in a letter, an announcement, demand, or request.
  • Phallogocentrism. Examines the relationship between logos (reason) and the phallus (representative of male genetalia). Just as the phallus is implicitly and sometime explicitly assumed to be the only significant sexual organ, the masculine is the accepted as the central point of reference of validity and authority for a society.
  • Phronesis. Greek, practical wisdom; common sense.
  • Physis. Greek, the strong will rule over the weak.
  • Pian. Ancient China, the art of disputing.
  • Plausibility. Rhetoric that is believable right away due to its association with something that the audience already knows or has experienced.
  • Pleonasm. The use of more words than necessary to express an idea.
  • Poetriae,Ars. Latin, poetry as an art.
  • Polis. Greek, the city-state, especially the people in the city-state.
  • Polysyndeton. The repeated use of conjunctions within a sentence, particularly where they do not necessarily have to be used.
  • Portrayl. Describing a person clearly enough for recognition. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'I mean him, men of the jury, the ruddy, short, bent man, with white and rather curly hair, blue-grey eyes, and a huge scar on his chin, if perhaps you can recall him to memory.'"
  • Position. The stance taken by a rhetor that s/he is attempting to prove through argumentation.
  • Positivism. Term created by Auguste Comte that posits that science, math, or logic can prove any reasonable claim.
  • Postmodernism. Related to rhetoric, a field of inquiry concerned with the ideological underpinnings of commonly held assumptions.
  • Praedicandi, Ars. Latin, Preaching.
  • Pragmatism. Field of thought positing that knowledge was fluid and that traditionally "fixed" entities (like time) were largely contextual; believed that a free society with free individuals was a viable standard for living.
  • Presence. In Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, choosing to emphasize certain facts and ideas instead of others, leading the audience along that path.
  • Presumption. An idea is reasonable or acceptable only until it is sufficiently challenged.
  • Pronuntiato. Latin: The deliverary of an oration or an argument in a manner befitting the subject matter and style, while maintaining control of voice and body.
  • Protreptic. Greek, the potential to persuade through language.
  • Psogos. Greek for blame.
  • Psychagogos. Greek for a poet.
  • Psyche. Greek for the mind or soul.
  • Public Sphere. Place where individuals can engage in discussion without the political or state interests interferring.
  • Purpose. What are we trying to do with our uses of language?

[edit] Q

  • Quadrivium. The major subjects taught in medieval times: geometry, arithmetic, atronomy, and music.
  • Quaestiones. Debatable points around which disputes are centered.

[edit] R

  • Reasoning by Contraries. Where the first statement of two opposite statements directly proves the second. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'Or how should you expect a person whose arrogance has been insufferable in private life, to be agreeable and not forget himself when in power...?'"
  • Res. Latin: An argument's subtance.
  • Rhetor. A person who is in the course of presenting or preparing rhetorical discourse.
  • Rhetores. (Greek) Those who make a living by speaking persuasively.
  • Rhetoric. The study and practice of good effective expression. Also a type of discourse- focusing on goals of the speech or piece of writing that attempts to sway the mind of the audience.
  • Rhetorical Audience. Those who can be persuaded by rhetoric.
  • Rhetorical discourse. Discourse created within the boundary of the principles of rhetoric.
  • Rhetorical opposition. Protagoras's idea that there are two sides to everything.
  • Rhetorical Situation. A term made popular by Lloyd Bitzer; describes the scenario that contains a speech act, including the considerations (purpose, audience, author/speaker, constraints to name a few) that play a role in how the act is produced and perceived by its audience. The counterargument regarding Bitzer's situation-rhetoric relationship was made by Richard E. Vatz in "The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation." He argued for a salience-meaning (or now, agenda-framing-spin) model of persuasion, which emphasized rhetoric as a creative act with increased agent or persuader responsibility for the situation his or her rhetoric creates. He maintained this added to the importance of rhetorical study.
  • Rhetorical Theory. The organized presentation of the art or rhetoric, descriptions of the various functions of rhetoric, and clarifications of how rhetoric achieves its goals.
  • Rhetoric of Fiction. Wayne Booth's idea "the author's judgement is always present" in a narrative.

[edit] S

  • Salon. Intellectual assembly in an aristocratic setting; primarily associated with France in the 1600s and 1700s.
  • Salutatio. (Latin) A written greeting.
  • Sannio. (Latin) the fool. The role to avoid when using humor in a speech.
  • Scholasticism. Rhetorical study of Christianity that was intellectually prominent in 11th-15th Century Western Europe, emphasizing rhetorical concepts by Aristotle and a search for universal truth.
  • Scientific Method. A system of observing and analyzing data through induction; prominent school of thought since the 1600s whose proponents are often critical of rhetoric.
  • Scientific Reasoning. Moving from axioms to actual conclusions. Also Syllogistic logic.
  • Scientism. In Weaver, applying scientific assumptions to subjects that are not completely natural.
  • Scientistic. Kenneth Burke. Way of looking at the nature of language as a way of naming or defining something. ex. 'It is' or 'It is not.'
  • Second Sophistic. Rhetorical era in Rome that dealt primarily with rhetorical style through some of the Greek Sophists' concepts, while neglecting its political and social uses because of censorship.
  • Semantics. Philosophical study of language that deals with its connection to perceptions of reality.
  • Semiotics. Branch of semantics concerning language and communication as a system of symbols.
  • Senatus. Latin for Senate. The group of elders who governed Rome.
  • Sensus Communis. a society's basic beliefs and values.
  • Sententia. Applying a general truth to a situation by quoting a maxim or other wise saying as a conclusion or summary of that situation.
  • Shui. Formal persuasion in ancient China.
  • Sign. Term from semiotics that describes something that has meaning through its connection to something else, like words.
  • Signifying. Term from semiotics that describes the method through which meaning is created with arbitrary signs.
  • Simile. A figure of speech that compares unlike things, implying a resemblance between them. For example (from Rhetorica ad Herennium), "'He entered the combat in body like the strongest bull, in impetuosity like the fiercest lion.'"
  • Skepticism. Type of thought that questions whether universal truth exists and is attainable by humans.
  • Solecismus. Ignorantly misusing tenses, cases, and genders.
  • Sophists. Considered the first professional teachers of oratory and rhetoric (ancient Greece 4th Century B.C.).
  • Soraismus. The ignorant or affected mingling of languages.
  • Sprezzatura. The ability to appear that there is seemingly little effort used to attain success. The art of being able to show that one is able to deceive. Baldessare Castiglione.
  • Starting Points. In Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, the place between the speaker and audience where the argument can begin.
  • Stasis System. System of finding arguments by means of looking at ideas that are contradictory.
  • Status quo. Latin: The generally accepted existing condition or state of affairs.
  • Studia humanitas. Latin: Humanistic studies deemed indispensable in Renaissance-era education; rhetoric, poetics, ethics, politics.
  • Syllepsis. A word modifying others in appropriate, though often incongruous ways. This is a similar concept to zeugma.
  • Syllogism. A type of valid argument that states if the first two claims are true, then the conclusion is true. (For example: Claim 1: People are mortal. Claim 2: Bob is a person. Therefore, Claim 3: Bob is mortal.) Started by Aristotle.
  • Syllogistic Logic. See Scientific Reasoning.
  • Symbol. A visual or metaphorical representation of an idea or concept.
  • Symbolic inducement. Term coined by Kenneth Burke to refer to rhetoric.
  • Sympheron. (Greek) Path that is to one's advantage.
  • Synchysis. Word order confusion within a sentence.
  • Syncope. The omission of letters from the middle of a word, usually replaced by an apostrophe.
  • Synecdoche. A rhetorical device were one part of an object is used to represent the whole.

[edit] T

  • Tapinosis. Language or an epithet that is debasing. This term is synonymous with Meiosis.
  • Taste. A learned admiration for things of beauty.
  • Tautologia. The same idea repeated in different words.
  • Taxis. The distribution of a proper adjunct to every subject.
  • Techne. Greek for a true art.
  • Terministic screens. term coined by Kenneth Burke to explain the way in which the world is viewed when taking languages and words into consideration.
  • Theme. The basic principle pulled from the Bible in order to create a sermon.
  • Thesis. The major claim or premise made in an argument to be proved or dis-proved.
  • Thesmos. Greek. The law that comes from the authority of kings.
  • Tone. The author's voice in a essay through use of figurative language or a style of enunciation in writing (also known as a diction). The way the author expresses him self out loud or through a character.
  • Topical systems. Methods for finding arguments.
  • topographia. The description of a place.
  • topothesia. The description of an imaginary or non-existent place.
  • Topos. A line or specific style of argument.
  • Toulmin Model. A method of diagraming arguments created by Stephen Toulmin that identifies such components as backing, claim, data, qualifier, rebuttal, and warrant.
  • Transgression. Reading a text and looking for the deeper meanings instead of the obvious ones.
  • Translative issue. Dealing with procedure of an ensueing case.
  • Tricolon. The pattern of three phrases in parallel, found commonly in Western writing after Cicero. For example, the kitten had white fur, blue eyes, and a pink tongue.
  • Trivium. (Latin) Grammar, rhetoric, and logic taught in schools during the medieval period.
  • Tropes. Figure of speech that uses a word aside from its literal meaning.

[edit] U

  • Universal audience. An audience consisting of all humankind (most specifically of adult age and normal mental capacity).

[edit] V

  • Validity. Apprehension over the structure of an argument.
  • Validity Claim. Claiming to have made a correct statement.
  • Verba. Latin: The part of an argument that advances the subject matter.
  • Visual rhetoric. A theoretical framework describing how visual images communicate, as opposed to aural or verbal messages.
  • Vir bonus beni dicendi. Latin: The good man speaking well.
  • Vita activa. A life lived in active involvement in the political arena.

[edit] W

  • Warrant. term used by Stephen Toulmin to establish a link between data and a claim.
  • Ways and Means. One of the five main matters that Aristotle claims political speakers make speeches on. It consists of the speaker's country's revenue and sources, as well as the expenditures of the country.

[edit] X

[edit] Y

[edit] Z

  • Zeugma. From the Greek word "ζεύγμα", meaning "yoke". A figure of speech in which one word applies to two others in different senses of that word, and in some cases only logically applies to one of the other two words. This is a similar concept to syllepsis.

[edit] See also

Yea what he said

[edit] References

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