Oxymoron

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɒksɪˈmɔːɹɒn/

Definitions

  1. A figure of speech combining two contradictory or opposite terms to create a striking or humorous effect | a person or thing that exhibits contradictory qualities
  2. A rhetorical device pairing seemingly contradictory elements to achieve ironic or emphatic meaning | an individual or entity displaying mutually opposing characteristics
  3. a figure combining opposite notions for striking effect

Etymology: An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory or incongruous terms, such as "bittersweet" or "deafening silence." The word itself is a Greek coinage, assembled from two roots that work together to embody the very concept it names. The first component comes from "oxys," meaning "sharp" or "keen," a word that appears in English scientific terminology in compounds like "oxygen" (literally "sharp-producing," from the element's role in combustion). The second component derives from "moros," meaning "foolish" or "dull," which survives in English in the word "moron," borrowed directly from Greek in the early twentieth century. The full Greek phrase "oxymōron" literally means "sharp-dull" or "keenly foolish," and the term was used by Greek and Roman rhetoricians to describe the rhetorical device itself. The paradox embedded in the term's own construction—pairing a word for sharpness with one for dullness—perfectly captures the nature of the figure of speech it describes. This self-exemplifying quality made the term memorable and useful for discussing literature and rhetoric. The word entered English in the sixteenth century, appearing in English translations and discussions of classical rhetoric. Early uses were confined largely to scholarly and literary circles discussing poetic and rhetorical technique. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it became more widely established in English grammatical and rhetorical handbooks as a standard term for the device. The meaning has remained stable since its introduction: it consistently refers to a combination of contradictory or incongruous words or ideas, typically employed for rhetorical effect or emphasis.

Synonyms: contradiction, paradox