Home › Glossary › Letter U

Unique term epigram

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

An epigram that employs a word or phrase used only once in a given context or corpus

Detailed Definition
A unique term epigram is a brief, witty poem that hinges on a word or phrase used nowhere else in the poet’s work or in contemporary usage, making the term a singular linguistic artifact; such epigrams gain memorability through lexical novelty, often crystallizing a complex idea in an irreplicable verbal formulation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Martial’s epigram using “hippocrene” (a rare word for poetic fountain) once; Ben Jonson’s “Drink to me only with thine eyes” featuring unique phrasing; Alexander Pope’s “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” (coined phrase used once); Emily Dickinson’s “circumference” as a unique term for spiritual boundary
Additional Notes
A unique term epigram introduces or hinges on a coined or rare word for pointed effect; showcases lexical innovation while delivering concise insight or satire.
Also Known As
Nonce-word epigram singular-term distich one-off lexical couplet unique diction epigram Hapax Epigram
Skip to main content