oxymoron

Etymology
, noun use of 5th century, neut. nom. form of, from , compound of (English , as in ) +  (English ). Literally "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid", or "pointed-foolish" – itself an oxymoron, hence autological; compare, influenced by similar analysis. The compound form is not found in the extant Ancient Greek sources.

Noun

 * 1)  A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
 * 2)  A contradiction in terms.
 * 1)  A contradiction in terms.
 * 1)  A contradiction in terms.

Usage notes

 * Historically, an was "a  with a point", or "pointedly foolish: a witty saying, the more pointed from being paradoxical or seemingly absurd" at first glance. Its deliberate purpose was to underscore a point or to draw attention to a concealed point. The common  use of  as simply a contradiction in terms is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, and is perhaps best avoided in certain contexts.

Translations

 * Albanian: oksimoron
 * Armenian: ,
 * Belarusian: аксю́маран, аксі́маран
 * Bulgarian:
 * Catalan:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 矛盾修飾法, 矛盾語
 * Czech: oxymóron
 * Esperanto:
 * Estonian: oksüümoron
 * Finnish:
 * French: ,
 * Georgian:
 * German:
 * Greek: οξύμωρο σχήμα
 * Ancient: ὀξύμωρον
 * Hungarian:
 * Icelandic:
 * Italian:
 * Japanese: 撞着語法, 矛盾語法
 * Korean: 모순어법
 * Latin: oxymorum
 * Lithuanian:
 * Macedonian: оксиморон
 * Maori: kīpeha tauaro
 * Polish: ,
 * Portuguese: ,
 * Romanian:
 * Russian: ,
 * Serbo-Croatian:
 * Cyrillic: оксиморон
 * Roman:
 * Slovak: oxymorón
 * Slovene:, bistroumni nesmisel
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: ,
 * Tagalog: kulanglabis
 * Thai:
 * Turkish:
 * Ukrainian: окси́морон

Usage notes
In French, and  denote the same thing. However, each form has its own derived terms ( and for oxymore, and  and  for oxymoron). When using one form, be sure to not mix it with the derivatives of the other.