Chiasmus

In rhetoric, chiasmus (/kaɪˈæzməs/ ky-AZ-məs) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words".

For a synonym of a genus of beetles, see Chiasmetes. For application of chiasmus on larger scale structure, see chiastic structure. For a German government block cipher, see Chiasmus (cipher). For other meanings of "chiasm", see Chiasm.

A similar device, antimetabole, also involves a reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses in an A-B-B-A configuration, but unlike chiasmus, presents a repetition of words.

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