What is a good way to remember what euphemism means?
1 Answer
One way could be to know that the word comes from Greek, with euphemia meaning "good speech" (and to be even more precise, eu means "good" and pheme means "speech").
Explanation:
First the definition - a euphemism is a word or phrase that is used in place of another word or phrase - the euphemism softens what could be considered a cold, hard truth. For instance, there are many euphemisms for death. So while someone could say:
My husband died last night
it could be said in a softer way:
"My husband fell asleep and never woke up"
"My husband passed over last night"
"My husband met St. Peter and the Angelic Choir"
etc.
So how to remember that it's "euphemism" that is this mode of speech? One way could be to know that the word comes from Greek, with euphemia meaning "good speech" (and to be even more precise, eu means "good" and pheme means "speech").
Another way would be to take the link below and have it handy on your phone - it's the website Literary Devices and has a comprehensive list of said devices for your referencing needs:
