/per'euh pi tuy"euh, -tee"euh/ , n.
a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, esp. in a literary work.
Also, peripetia, peripety /peuh rip"i tee/ .
[ 1585-95; peripéteia sudden change, equiv. to peripet ( és ) lit., falling round ( peri- PERI- + pet-, base of píptein to fall) + -eia -Y 3 ]