Traductio (tra-duk’-ti-o): Repeating the same word variously throughout a sentence or thought. Some authorities restrict traductio further to mean repeating the same word but with a different meaning (see ploce, antanaclasis, and diaphora), or in a different form (polyptoton). If the repeated word occurs in parallel fashion at the beginnings of phrases or clauses, it becomes anaphora; at the endings of phrases or clauses, epistrophe.
I have a new lawnmower. It is huge–more like a tractor than a lawnmower! But when the grass grows it mows–so it’s a lawnmower!
I’m glad I have such a big and trusty lawnmower! No matter how big it is, it’ll always be a trusty lawnmower to me.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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