Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
euphuism
eu′phu-ism
(ū′fū̍-ĭz’m)
, Noun.
[Gr.
εὐφυήσ
well grown, graceful; εὖ
well + φυή
growth, fr. φύειν
to grow. This affected style of conversation and writing, fashionable for some time in the court of Elizabeth, had its origin from the fame of Lyly’s books, “Euphues
, or the Anatomy of Wit,” and “Euphues and his England.”] (Rhet.)
An affectation of excessive elegance and refinement of language; high-flown diction.