Where does “oxymoron” come from?

Oxymoron comes from Latin oxymorum, from Latin oxymorus, from Ancient Greek ὀξύμωρος meaning pointedly foolish, composed of Ancient Greek μωρός meaning foolish and Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ-.

oxymoron (English): A figure of speech in which two words or phrases...

Definitions

  1. A figure of speech in which two words or phrases...

Ancestry of “oxymoron”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinoxymōrum—
2Ancient Greekὀξύμωροςpointedly foolish; oxymoronic
3Ancient Greekμωρόςslow, sluggish; slow, dull, foolish, stupid;...
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanmuHrósdull, stupid

Words derived from “oxymoron”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European muHrós →Every word from Ancient Greek μωρός →Every word from Ancient Greek ὀξύμωρος →
oxymoron — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer