Euphemism - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

EUPHEMISM (from Gr. Eiickµos, having a sound of good omen; Eu, well, and Oi h un, sound or voice), a figure of speech in which an unpleasant or coarse phrase is replaced by a softer or less offensive expression. A euphemism has sometimes a metaphorical sense, as in the substitution of the word "sleep" for "death."