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Glite Dictionary
🎵 Similar word endings ✍️ Copying omission error
homoeoteleuton

homoeoteleuton

9.9
A copying mistake where a line is left out because two lines end the same
  • noun
  • /ˌhoʊmiːoʊˈtɛlɪtən/
  • UK
translation icon : homoeoteleuton
  • A common example of homoeoteleuton is when a scribe accidentally skips a line of text because the previous and next lines end in the same sequence of letters.

Examples

  • For instance, homoeoteleuton is attributed by textual critics to parablepsis, a supposed sideways eye movement in reading.

    Academic text (2001)

  • This is a nice example, since it may enable us to explain phenomena like dittography, haplography, homoeoteleuton, and homoearcton by reference to a single type of cognitive/motor mechanism instead of in the somewhat piecemeal way provided in textual criticism.

    Academic text (2001)

  • In his analysis of ancient manuscripts, the scholar pointed out a homoeoteleuton that caused crucial information to be lost.

  • Textual errors like homoeoteleuton can lead to significant misunderstandings in the interpretation of historical documents.

Synonyms

haplography
vshomoeoteleuton
  • Specialized
9.9

To accidentally leave out a repeated letter or word when copying text

occurs when two lines or phrases end the same, so a passage is skipped

Surface Forms

homoeoteleuton singular
homoeoteleutons plural

Morphology

homoeoteleuton = homoeo + teleuton

The term is built from Greek combining forms (homoeo- + teleuton) that are not productive standalone English words and the meaning is specialized, so a B1 learner cannot reliably derive the sense from familiar English bases.

Etymology

Homoeoteleuton comes from the Greek parts homoio- 'similar' and -teleuton 'ending'. It also names a copying mistake that happens when two lines end the same and the person copying the text accidentally skips a section because their eye jumps.