Euphemism  

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This page Euphemism is part of the linguistics series. Illustration: a close-up of a mouth in the film The Big Swallow (1901)
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This page Euphemism is part of the linguistics series.
Illustration: a close-up of a mouth in the film The Big Swallow (1901)

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A euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, or to make it less troublesome for the speaker, as in the case of doublespeak. The deployment of euphemisms is a central aspect within the public application of political correctness.

It may also substitute a description of something or someone to avoid revealing secret, holy, or sacred names to the uninitiated, or to obscure the identity of the subject of a conversation from potential eavesdroppers. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse.

Sexual euphemisms

sexual euphemisms

The use of euphemisms is at its highest in sexual matters, closely followed by morbid matters.

Etymology

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 φάναι (phánai, “to speak, say”).

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Euphemism" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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