/ kaɪˈæzməs; NAmE kɪˈæz-/ noun
[ U , C ] ( pl. chi·as·mi / kaɪˈæzmi; NAmE ; kɪˈæz-/) ( technical ) a technique used in writing or in speeches, in which words, ideas, etc. are repeated in reverse order
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (in the sense crosswise arrangement ): modern Latin , from Greek khiasmos , from khiazein mark with the letter chi, from khi chi, the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet.