Grandiloquence

Grandiloquence

Grandiloquence is speech or writing marked by pompous or bombastic diction. [ [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grandiloquence Dictionary.com - Grandiloquence] ] It is a combination of Latin word "grandis" (great) and "loqui" (to speak). [ [http://www.allwords.com/word-grandiloquence.html Grandiloquence - etymology] ]

The 29th President of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding, is often considered a grandiloquent speaker. His style of speaking was somewhat unusual, even in his age. The following is an example of his unusual and grandiloquent word speech:

:"America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not , but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but ; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality…."

William Gibbs McAdoo believed Harding's speeches consisted of "an army of pompous phrases moving across the landscape in search of an idea."

Senator Robert C. Byrd from West Virginia lost his position as majority leader in 1989 because his colleagues felt his grandiloquent speeches, often employing obscure allusions to ancient Rome and Greece, were not an asset to the party base. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-22-byrd-fight-GOP_x.htm At 87, Byrd faces re-election battle of his career] ] This trait has been exemplified by oratory quoting Shakespeare upon the death of his little dog Billy. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r107:S20MR1-0009: Byrd speech from LOC] ]

ee also

*Nonscience (book)

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  • grandiloquence — [ grɑ̃dilɔkɑ̃s ] n. f. • 1544, repris 1859; lat. grandiloquus, de grandis « sublime » et loqui « parler », d apr. éloquence ♦ Éloquence ou style affecté, qui abuse des grands mots et des effets faciles. ⇒ emphase. « la grandiloquence et l excès… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Grandiloquence — Gran*dil o*quence, n. The use of lofty words or phrases; bombast; usually in a bad sense. [1913 Webster] The sin of grandiloquence or tall talking. Thackeray, [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • grandiloquence — index bombast, declamation, peroration, rhetoric (insincere language) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • grandiloquence — 1580s, from L. grandiloquentia, from grandiloquus using lofty speech, bombastic, from grandis big (see GRAND (Cf. grand) (adj.)) + loquus speaking, from loqui to speak (see LOCUTION (Cf. locution)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • grandiloquence — (entrée créée par le supplément) (gran di lo kan s ) s. f. Parole pompeuse. •   Je crois que c est vous mêmes, messieurs, qui vous mystifiez par votre fausse métaphysique et votre grandiloquence, PROUDHON les Majorats littéraires, p. 14, Paris,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • grandiloquence — grandiloquent ► ADJECTIVE ▪ pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner. DERIVATIVES grandiloquence noun grandiloquently adverb. ORIGIN Latin grandiloquus grand speaking …   English terms dictionary

  • grandiloquence — noun Etymology: probably from Middle French, from Latin grandiloquus using lofty language, from grandis + loqui to speak Date: 1589 a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • GRANDILOQUENCE — n. f. Abus des grands mots dans le discours, éloquence boursouflée …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • grandiloquence — /gran dil euh kweuhns/, n. speech that is lofty in tone, often to the point of being pompous or bombastic. [1580 90; < L grandiloqu(us) speaking loftily (grandi(s) great + loquus speaking) + ENCE] * * * …   Universalium

  • grandiloquence — noun lofty, pompous or bombastic speech or writing See Also: grandiloquent …   Wiktionary

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