English Explanatory Dictionary

pleonasm

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Redundancy in wording.
  2. A phrase involving pleonasm; a phrase containing one or more words which are redundant because their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase.

Pronunciation

/ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pleonasm.wav

Word forms

pleonasm pleonasms

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, “to be superfluous”), from πλείων (pleíōn, “more”).

Related words

circumlocution pleonastic auxesis battology perissology tautology English pleonastic compounds Pleonastic compounds by language

Derived words

pleonasmic
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