A pleonasm is a figure of speech in which superfluous words are used that repeat the meaning already conveyed — e.g. 'free gift' (a gift is inherently free), 'past history' (history is inherently past), or 'end result' (a result is inherently final). Parameters: (1) lexical redundancy — two or more words whose combined meaning repeats information expressible by either alone; (2) semantic overlap — the repeated element adds no new propositional content. Persistence mechanism: literary and rhetorical pedagogy preserves pleonasm as a catalogued error and stylistic category across generations of writing instruction. [formal: pleonasmus | substrate: mind | horizon: a life | explicit: no | epoch: 0.42]
Accepted ontology entry
pleonasm
A pleonasm is a figure of speech in which superfluous words are used that repeat the meaning already conveyed — e.g. 'free gift' (a gift is inherently free), 'past history' (history is inherently past), or 'end result' (a result is inheren…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A pleonasm is a human-made linguistic construct: the use of more words than necessary to express an idea (e.g., 'free gift', 'end result', 'past history'). It is a recognized category of redundancy in rhetoric and grammar, taught and analyzed in language disciplines as a stylistic or grammatical phenomenon.
Names and aliases
- pleonasmen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrtfjde400049zhnv4xb5z4fINSTANCE_OF →
Pleonasm is a specific kind of figure of speech — the use of more words than necessary to convey meaning (e.g. 'free gift', 'past history'). The competent-speaker test passes: 'pleonasm is a kind of figure of speech.' Per Law 9, specific→general.
- cmrmf7wqp001sd1nlgdko4rbiSERVES →
Pleonasm — the deliberate use of more words than necessary ('free gift', 'past history') — is constructed and maintained for the sake of rhetoric. Its designed purpose is to add emphasis, stylistic color, or clarity to discourse. Servant (pleonasm) points at master (rhetoric). Per Law 8d.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 21, 2026, 2:52 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 268e6b605129fb662f3fccfc6ad135243bf2f1c1be7fb50a8feab454d4a94ecf