oxymoron
Pronunciation: /ɒksɪˈmɔːɹɒn/
The English word “oxymoron” has 2 meanings listed here.
noun
- A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
- A contradiction in terms.
Etymology
First attested in the 17th century, noun use of 5th century Latin oxymōrum (adjective), neut. nom. form of oxymōrus (adjective), from Ancient Greek ὀξύμωρος (oxúmōros), compound of ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp, keen, pointed”) (English oxy-, as in oxygen) + μωρός (mōrós, “dull, stupid, foolish”) (English moron (“stupid person”)). Literally "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid", or "pointed-foolish" – itself an…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.