Zeugma

From Greek zeûgma, "a yoking, a joining," from zeugnýnai ("to yoke"), related to zygón ("yoke") — the same ancient root that gives us "join" and "yoke." The figure literally harnesses two ideas to one word, as oxen are yoked to a single beam.

  1. noun · /ZOOG-muh/

    A construction in which one word governs two others in different, often incongruous, senses.

    The clever economy of "she took her coat and her leave" — a single verb yoked to two objects it means differently, which makes the reader do a small double take.

    The novel opens on a perfect zeugma: "He lost his keys, his temper, and eventually his wife."

    Syllepsis is the tightly related term some reserve for the witty version, where the shared word fits each object grammatically but shifts meaning; usage of the two overlaps heavily.