Euphuism

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  euphuism \eu"phu*ism\ ([=u]"f[-u]*[i^]z'm), n. [Gr. e'yfyh`s
     well grown, graceful; e'y^ well + fyh` growth, fr. fy`ein 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.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  euphuism
       n 1: any artificially elegant style of language
       2: an elegant style of prose of the Elizabethan period;
          characterized by balance and antithesis and alliteration
          and extended similes with and allusions to nature and
          mythology

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  48 Moby Thesaurus words for "euphuism":
     Gongorism, affectation, affectedness, artfulness, artifice,
     artificiality, asiaticism, device, elegance, euphemism,
     exquisiteness, figurative language, figurativeness, figure,
     figure of speech, floridity, flourish, flower, flowery style,
     formalism, formality, goody-goodness, goody-goodyism,
     hyperelegance, image, imagery, manner of speaking, manneredness,
     mannerism, nonliterality, nonliteralness, ornament,
     overelaboration, overelegance, overniceness, overpreciseness,
     overrefinement, pedantry, preciosity, preciousness, precisianism,
     pretentiousness, purism, purple passage, trope, turn of expression,
     unnaturalness, way of speaking