[eu.phu.ism] n [Euphues, character in prose romances by John Lyly] (1592) 1: an elegant Elizabethan literary style marked by excessive use of balance, antithesis, and alliteration and by frequent use of similes drawn from mythology and nature
2: artificial elegance of language -- eu.phu.ist n -- eu.phu.is.tic adj -- eu.phu.is.ti.cal.ly adv