E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Climax
means a stair (Greek), applied to the last of a gradation of arguments, each of which is stronger than the preceding. The last of a gradation of words of a similar character is also called a climax. The point of highest development.
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“In the very climax of his career … he was stricken down.”—Chittenden: Recollections of Lincoln. chap. xlv. p. 454.
