euphuism

English

Etymology

From John Lyly's didactic romance Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578), +‎ -ism.

Noun

euphuism (countable and uncountable, plural euphuisms)

1. (uncountable) An ornate style of writing (in Elizabethan England) marked by the excessive use of alliteration, antithesis and mythological similes.
2. An instance of euphuism.
   • 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, Marginalia:

     I have not the slightest faith in Carlyle. In ten years–possibly in five–he will be remembered only as a butt for sarcasm. His linguistic Euphuisms might very well have been taken as prima facie evidence of his philosophic ones; they were the froth which indicated, first, the shallowness, and secondly, the confusion of the waters.

Related terms

• euphuistic
• euphuistical
• euphuize

 

Translations

style of writing

• Bulgarian: евфуизъм m (evfuizǎm)
• French: euphuisme (fr) m
• German: Euphuismus (de) m
• Italian: eufuismo m
• Polish: eufuizm m
• Russian: эвфуи́зм (ru) m (evfuízm)
• Spanish: eufuismo m
• Ukrainian: евфуїзм m (evfujizm)