Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Tautology"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tautology \Tau*tol"o*gy\, n. [L. tautologia, Gr. ?: cf. F.
tautologie.] (Rhet.)
A repetition of the same meaning in different words; needless
repetition of an idea in different words or phrases; a
representation of anything as the cause, condition, or
consequence of itself, as in the following lines:
The dawn is overcast, the morning lowers, And heavily
in clouds brings on the day. --Addison.
Syn: Repetition.
Usage: {Tautology}, {Repetition}. There may be frequent
repetitions (as in legal instruments) which are
warranted either by necessity or convenience; but
tautology is always a fault, being a sameness of
expression which adds nothing to the sense or the
sound.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tautology
n 1: (logic) a statement that is necessarily true; "the statement
`he is brave or he is not brave' is a tautology"
2: useless repetition; "to say that something is `adequate
enough' is a tautology"
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