What is the use/function of polyptoton?

1 Answer
Feb 25, 2018

It is a particular way to indicate the importance or emphasis of an idea or characteristic by repetition of similar derived words.

Explanation:

Polyptoton is a rhetorical term for repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.

Polyptoton is the use of excessive words instead of shorter expressions. It involves an indirect way of expressing things. These words can help embellish sentences to create striking effects. The words in polyptoton share the same etymologies. It is sometimes used as superlative and comparative adjectives formed by adding words like “more” or “most” instead of suffixes.

https://literarydevices.net/polyptoton/