Definition:
(1) The needless repetition of an idea using different words.
(2) In logic, a statement that is unconditionally true by virtue of its form alone; for example, "Socrates is either mortal or he's not." Adjective: tautologous or tautological.
See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "redundant"Examples and Observations:
- "The 'new public management' has brought new ailments, particularly tautology. You often see such phrases as 'first class organizations are those that perform excellently.'"
(David Walker, "Mind Your Language." The Guardian, Sep. 27, 2006) - "In common parlance, an utterance is usually said to be tautologous if it contains a redundancy and says the same thing twice over in different words--e.g., ' John is the father of Charles and Charles is a son of John.' In logic, however, a tautology is defined as a statement that excludes no logical possibilities--'Either it is raining or it is not raining.' Another way of putting this is to say that a tautology is 'true in all possible worlds.' No one will doubt that, irrespective of the actual state of the weather (i.e., regardless of whether the statement that it is raining is true or false), the statement 'Either it is raining or it is not raining' is necessarily true."
(E. Nagel and J. R. Newman, Gödel's Proof, 1958) - "Tautology. Yes, I know, it's an ugly word. But so is the thing. Tautology is this verbal device which consists in defining like by like . . .. Since it is magical, it can of course only take refuge behind the argument of authority: thus do parents at the end of their tether reply to the child who keeps on asking for explanations: 'because that's how it is,' or even better: 'just because, that's all.'"
(Roland Barthes, Mythologies. Macmillan, 1972)
Pronunciation: taw-TOL-eh-jee
Also Known As: pleonasm
