hendiadys
/hĕn-dī′ə-dĭs/
noun
- A figure of speech in which two words connected by a conjunction are used to express a single notion that would normally be expressed by an adjective and a substantive, such as grace and favor instead of gracious favor.
Wikipedia
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Hendiadys - Wikipedia
October 20, 2025 - For example, the Latin grade cum amicitia atque pace, literally with friendship and peace, which initially contained hendiadys for emphasis, is often translated instead as "with peaceful friendship", which lacks hendiadys, and can therefore be interpreted to lack the same emphasis as the original phrase.
conjunction for emphasis
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › hendiadys
HENDIADYS Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
For example, his character Macbeth, ... fury" was more effective than "furious sound." The word hendiadys is a modification of the Greek phrase hen dia dyoin....
Etymonline
etymonline.com › word › hendiadys
Hendiadys - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
Originating in the 1580s from Medieval Latin altering Greek hen dia dyoin, this figure of speech pairs two nouns with "and" to replace a noun and adjective.
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Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com › dictionary › hendiadys_n
hendiadys, n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
OED's earliest evidence for hendiadys is from 1577, in the writing of H.
Dictionary.com
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HENDIADYS Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
Hendiadys definition: a figure in which a complex idea is expressed by two words connected by a copulative conjunction: “to look with eyes and envy” instead of “with envious eyes.”. See examples of HENDIADYS used in a sentence.
Interesting Literature
interestingliterature.com › 2020 › 03 › what-is-hendiadys-introduction-examples
What is Hendiadys? – Interesting Literature
April 11, 2025 - Hendiadys (pronounced ‘hen-DIE-a-DIZ’) is from the Greek meaning literally ‘one-through-two’. Put simply, hendiadys is a figure of speech whereby one idea is expressed by two ‘substantives’ (specifically, nouns or adjectives).
Audioshakespearepronunciationapp
audioshakespearepronunciationapp.com › hendiadys
Hendiadys | Definition & Examples in Shakespeare
September 7, 2023 - Hendiadys is a figure of speech ... favor” in place of “grace and favor.” It stems from the Latin phrase “one thing by means of two” or “one through two.” While the phase is no longer cited among grammarians ...
Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › hendiadys
hendiadys - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
It would seem that certain cases of appositional hendiadys are closely related to wordpairs (see WORD-PAIRS, BREAK-UP), though which way the development proceeded is far from certain.
ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › hendiadys-figure-of-speech-1690925
Definition and Examples of Hendiadys in Rhetoric
May 11, 2025 - Hendiadys is a figure of speech in which two words joined by "and" express an idea that is more commonly expressed by an adjective and a noun.
Wordsmith.org
wordsmith.org › words › hendiadys.html
hendiadys
Oct 31, 2014 This week's theme ... and its modifier. Example: "pleasant and warm" instead of "pleasantly warm" ETYMOLOGY: From Latin hendiadys, from Greek hen dia duoin (one by two)....
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The OED’s earliest citation for hendiadys is from George Puttenham’s ‘The Art of Englishe Poesie’, published in 1589. The etymological note for the entry reads:
Late or medieval Latin hendiadys , < the Greek phrase ἓν διὰ δυοῖν ‘one by means of two’.
The Greek phrase is apparently not found in Greek grammarians, but is frequent in Servius on Virgil; in late MSS. of Servius, it appears latinized as endyadis , endyadys ; Papias (12–13th cent.) has endiadis.
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When
Google's Ngram Viewer shows only hendiadys showing up in English books, and it turns up around 1820:
Etymonline.com says hendiadys goes back further:
hendiadys
1580s, figure of speech in which two nouns joined by and are used in place of a noun and an adjective; from M.L. alteration of Gk. hen dia duoin "one (thing) by means of two." If this term was used by Greek grammarians it is no longer found in their writings, but it is frequent among Latin writers.
It also has no entries for hen dia dyoin or hendiadyoin.
Together, these things suggest that hendiadys is the term adopted into English rather than the origial Greek or Latin hen dia dyoin and hendiadyoin.
Why
I don't have a definitive answer, but Anglicised loanwords often take on a different form from their original and drop accents. Note the Latinised form is hèn dià dyoîn. For example, French risque is first recorded as risk in 1728 and French bâton as baton in 1540s. There are many here and many more here.
Ifioque
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Definition & Examples of Hendiadys
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WordReference
wordreference.com › english dictionary › hendiadys
hendiadys - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
hendiadys - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free.
TheFreeDictionary.com
thefreedictionary.com › hendiadys
Hendiadys - definition of hendiadys by The Free Dictionary
Particularly striking, for instance, is the identification of a poetic senhal alluded in the syntagm sole freddoloso, encapsulated in the famous motet Ti libero la fronte dai ghiaccioli ("Brand-Eis" are the German words for fire and ice--the same elements alluded to in the hendiadys sole freddoloso--establishing a link with the Austrian roots of Irma's family name, p.
Grokipedia
grokipedia.com › page › Hendiadys
Hendiadys
Hendiadys is a rhetorical figure ... as a balanced union of two elements.[1] The term originates from the Greek phrase hen dia dyoin, meaning "one (thing) by means of two," reflecting its structure o...
En-academic
etymology.en-academic.com › 18248 › hendiadys
hendiadys
Hendiădys — (griech., eigentlich Hendiadyoin, d.h. [238] Eins durch zwei), syntaktische Figur, nach welcher statt eines Adjectivs ein, mit dem andern Substantivum durch und verbundenes Substantivum gesetzt wird, z.B. wir opfern auf Gold und ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/todayilearned › til hendiadys is a figure of speech, typically where a noun and adjective pair are replaced with two nouns joined by a conjunction. shakespeare was fond of using hendiadys in his plays, for instance, in macbeth: 'sound and fury' instead of 'furious sound'.
r/todayilearned on Reddit: TIL Hendiadys is a figure of speech, typically where a noun and adjective pair are replaced with two nouns joined by a conjunction. Shakespeare was fond of using hendiadys in his plays, for instance, in Macbeth: 'sound and fury' instead of 'furious sound'.
June 5, 2025 - It's probably named for the same reason most things are named: people who talk about a subject a lot want to create shorter ways to talk about something so they can say "hendiadys" instead of "a figure of speech, typically where a noun and adjective pair are replaced with two nouns joined by a conjunction" Continue this thread Continue this thread
BYU Rhetoric
rhetoric.byu.edu › Figures › H › hendiadys.htm
hendiadys
The distinction and presence of the dignitary moved his audience. By separating the term distinctive presence into distinction and presence, the speaker accentuates the adjective by transforming it into a noun. Were the separation not made, the modifier would be combined with its object and ...
Vaia
vaia.com › greek hendiadys
Greek Hendiadys: Definition & Examples | Vaia
Greek hendiadys is a literary and rhetorical device where two words connected by a conjunction express a single complex idea, enhancing the richness and depth of expression. This technique, often found in ancient Greek literature, replaces a noun-adjective or noun-noun phrase to provide more emphasis and stylistic variation.
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › hendiadys
Hendiadys - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
use of two conjoined nouns instead of a noun and modifier