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Dirimens copulatio

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Balancing opposites in a statement to prevent misinterpretation.

Detailed Definition
Dirimens copulatio is a rhetorical device that joins two contrasting statements with a conjunction (often “but” or “yet”) to simultaneously affirm and qualify, as in “She was kind, yet distant”; in poetry, it creates nuanced emotional or logical tension within a single clause.
Example
Example in poetry:
Dirimens copulatio: "Not only brave, but also foolish"; "She sings well, dances poorly, and speaks rarely"; "He is kind to friends, cruel to strangers, indifferent to foes"; "Adds contrasting or intensifying clauses for emphasis"; "Rhetorical accumulation with evaluative shift"
Additional Notes
Rhetorical figure denying connection while asserting it (e.g., "not to mention"). Creates ironic emphasis. Related to apophasis and paralipsis. Common in satirical and persuasive verse.
Other Meanings of “Dirimens copulatio”
Also Known As
Separating conjunction Dividing link Disjunctive coupling Contrasting connection
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