A rhetorical device involving repetition of words or phrases at the end of successive sentences or clauses; also a medical term for excessive tearing. It means 'carrying upon' or 'bringing to bear at the end.'
From Greek 'epi' (upon, at, after) + 'phoros' (bearing, carrying), meaning 'carrying upon' or 'bearing at the end.' In rhetoric, it describes carrying words to the end position for repetition; in medicine, it describes tears being carried upon the eye. The term entered English through Latin in technical contexts.
Epiphora completes the trio with anaphora and cataphora - while anaphora carries back and cataphora carries forward, epiphora carries words to the end for emphasis! It's like a relay race where the root 'phoros' passes meaning to different positions in language.
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