Etymology

euphemism

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Today it means: The use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is more offensive, blunt or vulgar. Full definition →

Ancient Greek εὐφημισμός
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromεὐφημισμός
  2. English todayeuphemism

Recorded since 1656; from Ancient Greek εὐφημισμός (euphēmismós), from εὐφημίζω (euphēmízō), from εὔφημος (eúphēmos, “uttering sound of good omen, abstaining from inauspicious words”), from εὖ (eû, “well”) + φήμη (phḗmē, “a voice, a prophetic voice, rumor, talk”), from φημί (phēmí, “to speak, say”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.