| oxymoron |
| Definition: A figure of speech where terms that are or seem contradictory are used together. |
| Example: jumbo shrimp and bitter sweet |
| Etymology:
The term was coined as a loan translation of the noun form of the Greek oxymoros, pointedly foolish (from oxys, sharp, and moros, stupid). Note: The Greek root is itself an oxymoron. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation — as an English word — is from 1657: "Oxymoron, […] subtilly foolish." (J. Smith Myst. Rhet. 121) |