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# The BFD Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-bfd-word-of-the-day-775/
- Published: 2022-03-14T17:15:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-01-15T19:35:31.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 01:12

The word for today is…

euphemism (noun):  
: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant  
  
Source : [Merriam -Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphemism?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Euphemism comes from Greek euphemos, which means “uttering sounds of good omen,” “fair-sounding,” or “auspicious.” The first part of that root is the prefix eu-, meaning “good.” The second part is phemos, a Greek word for “speech.” Euphemisms can take different forms, but they all involve substituting a word or phrase considered to be less offensive than another. The substituted word might, for example, be viewed as a less coarse choice, as when dang or darn is used instead of damn or damned. Or it might replace a word viewed as insulting to a religious figure, such as the various euphemisms for God (gad, gadzooks, gosh) or Jesus (gee, jeepers, jeez). A euphemism may also consist of an indirect softening phrase that is substituted for the straightforward naming of something unpalatable. Thus, we hear of people being “let go” rather than “fired”; civilians killed in war described as “collateral damage”; or someone who has died having “kicked the bucket,” “passed away, “given up the ghost,” or “joined one’s ancestors.”

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