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homoeoteleuton

paleography
Also known as: homoioteleuton

Quick Summary

Homoeoteleuton is a scribal error that occurs when a copyist mistakenly repeats or omits text due to similar endings of adjacent words, clauses, or lines. This can happen by chance or be done for rhythmic effect.12

Paleography is the study of ancient and medieval handwriting. Paleographers analyze scripts to correctly read past writings and determine their date and place of origin. This science is crucial for understanding historical documents and identifying manuscript errors, including homoeoteleuton.32

Homoeoteleuton is a frequent cause of omissions in copying manuscripts. For example, if two lines end with the same or similar words, a scribe might accidentally skip the text between them. This type of error is particularly relevant in the study of biblical literature, where precise textual accuracy is important.12

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