AMPHIBOLY

amphibology, amphiboly

(noun) an ambiguous grammatical construction; e.g., ‘they are flying planes’ can mean either that someone is flying planes or that something is flying planes

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

amphiboly (countable and uncountable, plural amphibolies)

(grammar) An ambiguous grammatical construction.

Usage notes

• Strictly speaking, in an amphiboly the individual words are unambiguous; the ambiguity results entirely from the linguistic manner in which they have been combined.

Anagrams

• ambophily

Source: Wiktionary

Am*phib"o*ly, n.; pl. Amphibolies. Etym: [L. amphibolia, Gr. amphibolie. See Amphibolous.]

Definition: Ambiguous discourse; amphibology. If it oracle contrary to our interest or humor, we will create an amphiboly, a double meaning where there is none. Whitlock.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition