oxymoron

See also Oxymoron, and oxymóron

English

WOTD - 12 July 2006    

Wikipedia

Etymology

From 5th century Latin oxymoron, from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxus, “sharp”) (English oxy-, as in oxygen) + μωρός (mōros, “dull”) (English moron (“stupid person”)). Literally “sharp-dull”, itself an oxymoron, hence autological; compare sophomore (literally “wise fool”), influenced by similar analysis. The compound form *ὀξύμωρον (oxumōron) is not found in the extant Greek sources.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ɒksɪˈmɔːɹɒn/, SAMPA: /QksI"mO:r\Qn/
• (US) enPR: äk-sē-môrʹ-än, äk-sĭ-môrʹ-än, IPA: /ˌɑksiˈmɔɹɑn/, /ɑksɪˈmɔɹɑn/, SAMPA: /Aksi"mOr\An/, /AksI"mOr\An/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

oxymoron (plural oxymorons or oxymora)

1. (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
   • A famous example is Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1, ll. 63-4:

     No light, but rather darkness visible

     Serv'd only to discover sights of woe

2. (general) A contradiction in terms.

Usage notes

• Traditionally, the word oxymoron is used in cases where the contradiction is deliberate, its purpose being to emphasize or heighten a contrast. The use of oxymoron as a synonym for contradiction in terms is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, and is perhaps best avoided in certain contexts. (See the Wikipedia article.)

Derived terms

• oxymoronic
• oxymoronically

Related terms

• moron
• oxy-
• sophomore

Translations

figure of speech

Catalan: oxímoron (ca) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 矛盾修飾法 (zh), 矛盾修饰法 (zh) (máodùn xiūshìfǎ), 矛盾語 (zh), 矛盾语 (zh) (máodùnyǔ) Czech: oxymóron (cs) m. Dutch: beeldspraak (nl) Esperanto: oksimoro (eo) Finnish: oksymoron (fi) French: oxymore (fr) m. German: Oxymoron (de) n. Greek: οξύμωρο σχήμα (el) (oxýmoro schíma) n. Ancient Greek: ὀξύμωρον (el) (oxymōron) n. Icelandic: refhvörf (is) n. pl.

Italian: ossimoro (it) m. Japanese: 撞着語法 (ja) (どうちゃくごほう, dōchaku gohō) Latin: oxymorum (la) n. Macedonian: оксиморон (mk) (oksimóron) m. Polish: oksymoron (pl) m. Portuguese: oxímoro (pt) m. Romanian: oximoron (ro) n. Russian: оксиморон (ru) (oksímoron) m., оксюморон (ru) (oksýmoron) m. Slovak: oxymorón (sk) m. Spanish: oxímoron (es) m. Swedish: oxymoron (sv), självmotsägelse (sv) Turkish: oksimoron (tr) n.

contradiction in terms — see contradiction in terms

See also

• Category:English oxymorons

External links

• List of oxymorons
• Lee’s Complete Oxymoron List, with discussion of classification (archive)