zeugma

/ˈzugmə/

A zeugma is a literary term for using one word to modify two other words, in two different ways. An example of a zeugma is, “She broke his car and his heart.”

When you use one word to link two thoughts, you're using a zeugma. Some literary experts distinguish a zeugma from a syllepsis by insisting that in a zeugma, only one of the two thoughts should make literal or grammatical sense. For example, you could use the zeugma, "I lost my keys and my temper." In Greek, zeugma means "a yoking," as in yoking one word to two ideas.

Definitions of zeugma

1. noun

   use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one
   “`Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma”

   types:

   syllepsis

   use of a word to govern two or more words though agreeing in number or case etc. with only one

   type of:

   figure, figure of speech, image, trope

   language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense