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prettygoodwordpleonasm (PLEE-oh-naz-uhm) - n., the use of more words than is strictly necessary to communicate the sense of an idea.
As in "black darkness" or "safe haven" -- typically used to provide emphasis, but can also be overapplied attempt at clarity. Adopted in the 1580s from Late Latin, from Greek pleonasmós, redundancy/surplus, derivative of pleonázein, to be/have more than enough, from pleíōn, more (from the same PIE root as plenty).
---L.
As in "black darkness" or "safe haven" -- typically used to provide emphasis, but can also be overapplied attempt at clarity. Adopted in the 1580s from Late Latin, from Greek pleonasmós, redundancy/surplus, derivative of pleonázein, to be/have more than enough, from pleíōn, more (from the same PIE root as plenty).
---L.
