tautology
[ taw-tol-uh-jee ]
/ tɔˈtɒl ə dʒi /
noun, plural tau·tol·o·gies.
needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness, as in “widow woman.”
an instance of such repetition.
Logic.
- a compound propositional form all of whose instances are true, as “A or not A.”
- an instance of such a form, as “This candidate will win or will not win.”
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Can be confusedredundancy tautology
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
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British Dictionary definitions for tautological
tautology
/ (tɔːˈtɒlədʒɪ) /
noun plural -gies
the use of words that merely repeat elements of the meaning already conveyed, as in the sentence Will these supplies be adequate enough? in place of Will these supplies be adequate?
logic a statement that is always true, esp a truth-functional expression that takes the value true for all combinations of values of its components, as in either the sun is out or the sun is not outCompare inconsistency (def. 3), contingency (def. 5)
Derived Formstautological (ˌtɔːtəˈlɒdʒɪkəl), tautologic or tautologous, adjectivetautologically or tautologously, adverb
Word Origin for tautology
C16: from Late Latin tautologia, from Greek, from tautologos
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for tautological
tautology
1570s, from Late Latin tautologia "representation of the same thing," from Greek tautologia, from tautologos "repeating what has been said," from tauto "the same" + -logos "saying," related to legein "to say" (see lecture (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper