Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
euphuism
eu′phu-ism
(ū′fū̍-ĭz’m)
, Noun.
[Gr.
εὐφυήσ
well grown, graceful; εὖ
well + φυή
growth, fr. φύειν
to grow. This affected style of conversation and writing, fashionable for some time in the court of Elizabeth, had its origin from the fame of Lyly’s books, “Euphues
, or the Anatomy of Wit,” and “Euphues and his England.”] (Rhet.)
An affectation of excessive elegance and refinement of language; high-flown diction.
Definition 2024
euphuism
euphuism
English
Noun
euphuism (plural euphuisms)
- (uncountable) An ornate style of writing (in Elizabethan England) marked by the excessive use of alliteration, antithesis and mythological similes.
- An example of euphuism.
- 1844, E. A. Poe, Marginalia
- I have not the slightest faith in Carlyle. In ten years–possibly in five–he will be remembered only as a butt for sarcasm. His linguistic Euphuisms might very well have been taken as prima facie evidence of his philosophic ones; they were the froth which indicated, first, the shallowness, and secondly, the confusion of the waters.
- 1844, E. A. Poe, Marginalia
Translations
style of writing