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euphemism - 5 dictionary results
eu⋅phe⋅mism
[yoo-fuh-miz-uh
m] 
–noun
| 1. | the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt. |
| 2. | the expression so substituted: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.” |
m
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To euphemism
| eu·phe·mism (yōō'fə-mĭz'əm) n. The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: "Euphemisms such as 'slumber room' . . . abound in the funeral business" (Jessica Mitford). [Greek euphēmismos, from euphēmizein, to use auspicious words, from euphēmiā, use of auspicious words : eu-, eu- + phēmē, speech; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots.] eu'phe·mist n., eu'phe·mis'tic (-mĭs'tĭk) adj., eu'phe·mis'ti·cal·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Euphemism
Eu"phe*mism\, n. [Gr. ? fr. ? to use word of a good omen; ? well + ? to speak: cf. F. euph['e]misme. See Fame.] (Rhet.) A figure in which a harts or indelicate word or expression is softened; a way of describing an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression; a mild name for something disagreeable.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : euphemism
Spanish:
eufemismo,
German:
der Euphemismus,
Japanese:
えん曲語法
euphemism [(yooh-fuh-miz-uhm)]
An agreeable word or expression substituted for one that is potentially offensive, often having to do with bodily functions, sex, or death; for example, rest room for toilet, lady of the evening for prostitute. The Nazis used euphemism in referring to their plan to murder the world's Jews as “the Final Solution.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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euphemism
1656, from Gk. euphemismos "use of a favorable word in place of an inauspicious one," from euphemizein "speak with fair words," from eu- "good" + pheme "speaking," from phanai "speak" (see fame). In ancient Greece, the superstitious avoidance of words of ill-omen during religious ceremonies, or substitutions such as Eumenides "the Gracious Ones" for the Furies (see also Euxine). In Eng., a rhetorical term at first; broader sense of "choosing a less distasteful word or phrase than the one meant" is first attested 1793.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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