Pleonastische

Pleonastische describes language that uses more words or elements than necessary to convey meaning, resulting in redundancy. In linguistics and rhetoric, a pleonastic construction repeats or duplicates information that is already contained in another part of the phrase, sentence, or syntactic unit. The effect can be stylistic, emphatic, or unintentional.

The term derives from Greek roots meaning “more” and “to put” and is used across languages to classify redundant expressions. In German linguistic usage, pleonasm (Pleonasmus) and the adjective pleonastisch are applied to phrases where one element repeats or reinforces another, even though the second element is not strictly required for interpretation. The phenomenon is studied alongside related concepts such as tautology and redundancy.

Common examples occur in everyday speech and writing. In German, expressions like PIN-Code or gratis kostenlos are often cited as pleonastic, since PIN stands for Personal Identification Number and “Code” reiterates the same idea. In English, phrases such as free gift or ATM machine are frequently pointed to as pleonastic. Pleonasm can also occur within phrases that practitioners use for emphasis or idiomatic effect, such as voll und ganz in German or completely and entirely in English.

In usage, pleonastic forms can be considered stylistic devices or errors, depending on context and audience. In formal writing, they are usually avoided for conciseness, while in poetry, advertising, or conversational style they may contribute rhythm, emphasis, or familiar tone. Distinguishing pleonasm from tautology (a logical redundancy) hinges on whether the repetition is linguistic (pleonasm) or epistemic/structural (tautology).

See also: redundancy, tautology, rhetorical devices.