1640s, from Late Latin epistrophe, from Greek epistrophe "a turning about, twisting, a turning (of affairs), a moving up and down," from epi "upon" (see epi-) + strophe "a turning" (from PIE root *streb(h)- "to wind, turn"). In rhetoric, a figure in which successive phrases are followed by the same word of affirmation; also used in music. Related: Epistrophic.
epistaxis
epistemic
epistemology
epistle
epistolary
epistrophe
epitaph
epithalamium
epithelium
epithet
epitome