euphemismn.
/ˈjuːfɪmɪz(ə)m/ 1. Rhetoric. That figure of speech which consists in the substitution of a word or expression of comparatively favourable implication or less unpleasant associations, instead of the harsher or more offensive one that would more precisely designate what is intended.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of meaning > [noun] > euphemism
euphemism1656
genteelism1849
euphemy1857
euphuisma1865
nice nellyism1933
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Euphemism, a good or favourable interpretation of a bad word.
1678–96 in E. Phillips New World of Words
1721–1800 in N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict.
1793 J. Beattie Elem. Moral Sci. II. iv. i. 467 Akin to it is Euphemism.
1879 M. D. Conway Demonol. I. iii. vi. 348 Serpent-worship in India was developed by euphemism.
2. An instance of this figure; a less distasteful word or phrase used as a substitute for something harsher or more offensive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of meaning > [noun] > euphemism > use of
euphemismus1599
euphemism1793
1793 J. Beattie Elem. Moral Sci. II. iv. i. 467 When it is said..‘he fell asleep,’ instead of—he died, the euphemism partakes of the nature of metaphor.
1860 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) VI. 27 (note) A shorn crown..a euphemism for decapitation.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind vi. 143 The euphemism of calling the Furies in the Eumenides.
1877 E. Coues Fur-bearing Animals vii. 216 The Skunk yields a handsome fur, lately become fashionable, under the euphemism of ‘Alaska Sable’.
ΚΠ
1678–96 in E. Phillips New World of Words Euphemism, a setting forth any ones good fame.
1721–1800 in N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict.
1828 in N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1656