pleonasm

noun /ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/

1. Redundancy in wording.

   uncountable

   St. Jerome and St. Augustine are both sparing in the employment of the device of pleonasm.

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

   countable

Where it comes from

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

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

← plenishpleonexia →

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