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illeism

noun /ˈɪliːɪzəm/

  1. The practice of (excessively) referring to oneself in the third person.

    countable, uncountable

    […] "[I]lleism with a difference" occurs when a character, speaking in the first person, refers to himself by name (not simply by a pronoun, which is illeism proper). [William] Sh[akespeare] makes significant use of the device in only four "middle plays." […] This sort of illeism enriches the dramatic context […]

Where it comes from

From Latin ille (“that man; he”) + -ism, modelled on egoism.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry illeism (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← illecebrousillywhacker →

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