Cosmosis (figure of speech)

Cosmosis (pl. cosmoses) is a figure of speech used in poetic works. Derived from the Greek κοσμεω, meaning "to put in order", it describes a relationship in grammatically inflected languages such as Latin or Greek in which two or more words appear successively in order by case, gender, or person. This is usually associated with a descending order of criteria, rather than ascending.

The following line from Virgil's "Aeneid" is a prime example of cosmosis, wherein the underlined words descend in case from nominative to ablative:

Ipse deum tibi mē clārō dēmittit Olympō (4.268)

An expansion of this definition includes scenarios where some elements in the order are skipped; as the order is nevertheless retained, this figure of speech still applies. Generally, the cosmotic association between two words alone appears too weak and thus is not accepted as a legitimate instance of cosmosis, especially if the words skip as in the previous definition, or if they are separated in or beyond the given line.