euphemism
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Recorded since 1656; from Ancient Greek εὐφημισμός (euphēmismós), from εὐφημίζω (euphēmízō), from εὔφημος (eúphēmos, “uttering sound of good omen, abstaining from inauspicious words”), from εὖ (eû, “well”) + φήμη (phḗmē, “a voice, a prophetic voice, rumor, talk”), from φημί (phēmí, “to speak, say”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
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euphemism (countable and uncountable, plural euphemisms)
- (uncountable) The use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is considered more offensive, blunt or vulgar than the word or phrase by which it is replaced.
- a. 1803, James Beattie, “Of Rhetorick”, in Elements of Moral Science, volume III, Philadelphia: Hopkins and Earle, published 1809, section I, page 118:
- Akin to it [litotes] is euphemism, which may be applied to the same purpose.
- 2019 July 26, David J. Ulin, “Op-Ed: I’m Jewish and I don’t say this lightly: ‘Never again’ is right now in America”, in LA Times[1]:
- In 1946, George Orwell addressed the relationship of language to reality and suggested that euphemism, not imperfect analogy, was the real danger. If we don’t use shocking language to describe a shocking circumstance, can we truly recognize what is happening?
- (countable) A word or phrase that replaces another in this way.
- a. 1803, James Beattie, “Of Rhetorick”, in Elements of Moral Science, volume III, Philadelphia: Hopkins and Earle, published 1809, section I, page 118:
- When it is said of the martyr St. Stephen, that “he fell asleep,” instead of—he died, the euphemism partakes of the nature of metaphor, intimating a resemblance between sleep and the death of such a person.
- 2004, George Carlin, “EUPHEMISMS: It's a Whole New Language”, in When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?[2], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 6:
- Euphemistic language turns up in many areas of American life in a variety of situations. Not all euphemisms are alike, but they have one thing in common: They obscure meaning rather than enhance it; they shade the truth.
Synonyms
[edit]- perfumed terms of the time (rare)
Antonyms
[edit]Hyponyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]use of a word or phrase to replace another word with one considered less offensive
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word or phrase that is used to replace another in this way
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Further reading
[edit]
euphemism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - Category:English euphemisms
Euphemism in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)- “euphemism”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “euphemism”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “euphemism”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰeh₂- (speak)
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Rhetoric