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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread peripeteia #78590 08/20/2002 12:47 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 An extra word for today. I got this in an e-mail just now. Part of a series of jokes! peripeteia • \peh-ruh-puh-TEE-uh or peh-ruh-puh-TYE-uh\ • (noun) : a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation especially in a literary work Example sentence: In the last act of the play, the king's decision to avenge his brother leads to an abrupt peripeteia that leaves him bereft of his throne and his family. Did you know? "Peripeteia" comes from Greek, in which the verb "peripiptein" means "to fall around" or "to change suddenly." It usually indicates a turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its denouement. In his Poetics, Aristotle describes the peripeteia as the shift of the tragic protagonist's fortune from good to bad—a shift that is essential to the plot of a tragedy. But the term is also used to refer to a protagonist's shift from bad fortune to good in a comedy. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: peripeteia #78591 08/20/2002 9:21 AM Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK dxb Pooh-Bah dxb Pooh-Bah Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK I expected this to link with peripatetic, but though both start with the Greek peri: around, about - peripatetic follows on from pateo: walk, whereas the "pet" in peripeteia comes, as you say, from pipto: to fall. To walk around and to fall around. Thanks for peripeteia; a good one to know. dxb Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter peripatetica #78592 08/24/2002 8:42 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 315 Italy - Perugia is a town with... emanuela enthusiast emanuela enthusiast Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 315 Italy - Perugia is a town with... In Italian "peripatetica" is used for prostitute, working in the streets, and walking and walking around while waiting for clients. Very sad indeed. They are often used and forced. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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