In literary criticism and rhetoric, a tautology is a statement that repeats an idea, using near-synonymous

morphemes A morpheme is the smallest meaningful constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. In English, morphemes are often but not necessarily words. Morphemes that stand alone a ...

, words or phrases, effectively "saying the same thing twice". Tautology and pleonasm are not consistently differentiated in literature. Like pleonasm, tautology is often considered a fault of

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

when unintentional. Intentional repetition may emphasize a thought or help the listener or reader understand a point. Sometimes logical tautologies like "Boys will be boys" are conflated with language tautologies, but a language tautology is not inherently true, while a logical tautology always is.

Etymology

The word was coined in

Hellenistic Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

from ('the same') plus ('word' or 'idea'), and transmitted through 3rd-century Latin and French . It first appeared in English in the 16th century. The use of the term logical tautology was introduced in English by

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...

in 1919, perhaps following Auguste Comte's usage in 1835.

Examples

* "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time," from the

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

song " Why Can't This Be Love" * "After we change the game it won't remain the same." from the

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful p ...

song "Blazing Arrow" * "That tautological statement has repeated an idea." * "There once was a fellow from Perth :Who was born on the day of his birth. :He got married, they say :On his wife's wedding day, :And died when he quitted the earth." *"...A

forget-me-not ''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the northern hemisphere they are colloquially known as forget-me-no ...

, to remind me to remember not to forget." from the

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...

song "My Garden of Love" *''Assless chaps''. Chaps by definition are ''separate'' leg-coverings; a similar garment joined at the seat would instead be called a pair of

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...

. *"''...und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute''" (and if they are not dead, then they are still alive today), traditional German formula to end a fairy tale (like "they lived happily ever after"). *"'Former alumni' - alumni means someone who is a former member of an institution, group, school etc. *"'Wandering planet' - the word ''planet'' comes from the Greek word ''πλανήτης'' (''planḗtēs''), which itself means "wanderer". *"'Global pandemic'" - '' pandemic'' comes from the Greek word ''πάνδημος'' (''pándēmos''), which means "all the people". * "If you know, you know", a common English phrase

Abbreviations

Abbreviations whose last abbreviated word is often redundantly included anyway. * ATM machine * COVID disease *

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

disc *

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

music *

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

system *

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

virus * ICBM missile *

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition an ...

number * LCD display *PAT test (

Photographic Activity Test Photographic Activity Test (PAT) is an ISO standard test detailed in ISO 18916:2007 (E), updated in 2007. Previous versions of the standard were numbered ISO 14523:1999(E). Current as of 2020 The test evaluates materials for archival quality and ...

or Paddington alcohol test) *

PIN A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

number *Please R.S.V.P. *

RAID Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...

array *

RAS syndrome RAS syndrome (where "RAS" stands for "redundant acronym syndrome", making the phrase "RAS syndrome" homological) is the redundant use of one or more of the words that make up an acronym (or other initialism) in conjunction with the abbreviated f ...

* RAT test *

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

syndrome *

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

test * SSD drive * UPC code * VIN number * VIP person

Discussion

Intentional repetition of meaning intends to amplify or emphasize a particular, usually significant fact about what is being discussed. For example, a gift is, by definition, free of charge; using the phrase "free gift" might emphasize that there are no hidden conditions or

fine print Fine print, small print, or mouseprint is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service. The larger print that is us ...

(such as the expectation of money or reciprocation) or that the gift is being given by volition. This is related to the rhetorical device of

hendiadys Hendiadys (; a Latinized form of the Greek phrase (') 'one through two') is a figure of speech used for emphasis—"The substitution of a conjunction for a subordination". The basic idea is to use two words linked by the conjunction "and" inste ...

, where one concept is expressed through the use of two descriptive words or phrases: for example, using "goblets and gold" to mean wealth, or "this day and age" to refer to the present time. Superficially, these expressions may seem tautological, but they are stylistically sound because the repeated meaning is just a way to emphasize the same idea. The use of tautologies, however, is usually unintentional. For example, the phrases "mental telepathy", "planned conspiracies", and "small dwarfs" imply that there are such things as physical telepathy, spontaneous conspiracies, and giant dwarfs, which are oxymorons. Parallelism is not tautology, but rather a particular stylistic device. Much Old Testament

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

is based on parallelism: the same thing said twice, but in slightly different ways (Fowler describes this as pleonasm). However, modern biblical study emphasizes that there are subtle distinctions and developments between the two lines, such that they are usually not truly the "same thing". Parallelism can be found wherever there is poetry in the Bible:

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, the

Books of the Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

, and in other areas as well.

References

External links