oxymoron
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English
Etymology
First attested in the 17th century, noun use of 5th century Latin oxymōrum (adj), neut. nom. form of oxymōrus (adj),[1] from Ancient Greek ὀξύμωρος (oxúmōros), compound of ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp, keen, pointed”)[2] (English oxy-, as in oxygen) + μωρός (mōrós, “dull, stupid, foolish”)[3] (English moron (“stupid person”)). Literally "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid", or "pointed-foolish"[4] – itself an oxymoron, hence autological; compare sophomore (literally “wise fool”), influenced by similar analysis. The compound form ὀξύμωρον (oxúmōron) is not found in the extant Ancient Greek sources.[5]
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɒksɪˈmɔːɹɒn/
- (US) enPR: äk-sē-môrʹ-än, äk-sĭ-môrʹ-än, IPA(key): /ˌɑksiˈmɔɹɑn/, /ɑksɪˈmɔɹɑn/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
oxymoron (plural oxymorons or oxymora)
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| Examples (rhetoric) |
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William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (c. 1591–1595) |
- (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
- 1996, John Sinclair, “Culture and Trade: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations”, in Emile G. McAnany, Kenton T. Wilkinson, editors, Mass Media and Free Trade: NAFTA and the Cultural Industries, University of Texas Press:
- For Theodor Adorno and his colleagues at the Frankfurt School who coined the term, "culture industry" was an oxymoron, intended to set up a critical contrast between the exploitative, repetitive mode of industrial mass production under capitalism and the associations of transformative power and aesthetico-moral transcendence that the concept of culture carried in the 1940s, when it still meant "high" culture.
- (loosely, sometimes proscribed) A contradiction in terms.
- 2015 April 28, Michael Pollan, “Why ‘Natural’ Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore”, in The New York Times Magazine:
- During the past few years, some 200 class-action suits have been filed against food manufacturers, charging them with misuse of the adjective in marketing such edible oxymorons as “natural” Cheetos Puffs, “all-natural” Sun Chips, “all-natural” Naked Juice, “100 percent all-natural” Tyson chicken nuggets and so forth.
Usage notes
- Historically, an oxymoron was "a paradox with a point",[6] or "pointedly foolish: a witty saying, the more pointed from being paradoxical or seemingly absurd" at first glance.[4] Its deliberate purpose was to underscore a point or to draw attention to a concealed point. The common vernacular use of oxymoron as simply a contradiction in terms is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, and is perhaps best avoided in certain contexts.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
figure of speech
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contradiction in terms — see contradiction in terms
See also
References
- ^ “oxymōrus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ “ὀξύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ “μωρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 “ὀξύμωρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ OED
- ^ Jebb, Sir Richard (1900). Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part III: The Antigone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
Oxymoron on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - “oxymoron”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Lee’s Complete Oxymoron List, with discussion of classification (archive)
French
Pronunciation
Audio: (file) Audio (Switzerland): (file)
Noun
oxymoron m (plural oxymorons)
Usage notes
In French, oxymore and oxymoron denote the same thing. However, each form has its own derived terms (oxymorique and oxymoriquement for oxymore, and oxymoronique and oxymoroniquement for oxymoron). When using one form, be sure to not mix it with the derivatives of the other.