Editing Polyptoton (section)

== Genesis ==
The form is relatively common in Latin Christian poetry and prose in a construction called the superlative genitive, in phrases such as [[sanctum sanctorum]] ("holy of holies"), and found its way into languages such as [[Old English]], which naturally preferred the prevalent [[alliteration]] that is part and parcel of polyptoton—in fact, polyptoton is "much more prevalent in Old English verse than in Latin verse." The specific superlative genitive in Old English, however, occurs only in Latinate Christian poems, not in secular poetry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fleming| first=Damian |editor1=Michael Fox |editor2=Manish Sharma |title=Old English Literature and the Old Testament |year=2012 |publisher=U of Toronto P |location=Toronto |isbn=9780802098542 |pages=229–52 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OPBv9DIVf0oC| chapter=''Rex regum et cyninga cyning'': 'Speaking Hebrew' in Cynewulf's ''Elene''}}</ref>