an artificial prose style of the Elizabethan period, marked by extreme use of antithesis, alliteration, and extended similes and allusions
2.
any stylish affectation in speech or writing, esp a rhetorical device or expression
Derived forms
euphuist (ˈeuphuist)
noun
euphuistic (ˌeuphuˈistic) or euphuistical (ˌeuphuˈistical)
adjective
euphuistically (ˌeuphuˈistically)
adverb
Word origin
C16: after Euphues, prose romance by John Lyly
euphuism in American English
(ˈjufjuˌɪzəm)
noun
1.
the artificial, affected, high-flown style of speaking or writing used by John Lyly and his imitators, characterized by alliteration, balanced sentences, far-fetched figures of speech, etc.
2.
any artificial, high-flown style of speech or writing
3.
an instance of this
Derived forms
euphuist (ˈeuphuist)
noun
Word origin
< Euphues, fictitious character in two prose romances by John Lyly < Gr euphyēs, shapely, graceful < eu- (see eu-) + phyē, growth < phyein, to grow (see bondage) + -ism