Etymologically
Log in

euphemism

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 04:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈjuː.fəˌmɪz.əm/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek εὐφημισμός (euphēmismós, “use of a favourable word in place of an inauspicious one”),[2][3][4][5] from euphēmízein “to speak with fair words”,[2][4][5] from euphēmía,[2] from Ancient Greek εὐ- (eu-, “good, well”) + φήμη (phḗmē, “speech”),[2][3][4][5] from phánai “to speak”,[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *bha- (“to speak”).[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In rhetoric, the figure of speech that substitutes a word of comparatively favourable meaning for one that is harsher (1656–81).[6][4][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1650s.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Greek the word described the superstitious avoidance of ill-omened words, especially during religious ceremonies;[5] the Athenians, for instance, called the Furies the Eumenides, “the kindly ones”.[5] English used it first as a rhetorical term,[5][6] and from 1793 for an individual mild word or phrase substituted for a blunter one.[6][5]

Timeline

  • 1656–81 – the rhetorical figure.[6][4]
  • 1793 – an instance, a mild substitute expression.[6][5]
  • 1856 – euphemistic.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The substitution of a mild, indirect or vague expression for one considered harsh, blunt or offensive.
  2. An expression substituted in this way, as pass away for die.

Word family

  • euphemist
  • euphemistically
  • euphemistic
  • euphemize

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press