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In linguistics, a tautology is a redundancy due to superfluous qualification.
A logical tautology is a statement that is true regardless of the truth values of its parts. For example, the statement "All crows are either black, or they are not black," is a tautology, because it is true no matter what color crows are. As a humorous example, the tautology is famously defined as "that which is tautological". (That definition is, of course, tautological.) In a more realistic example, if a biologist were to define "fit" in the phrase " survival of the fittest" as "more likely to survive", he would be forming a tautology.
The opposite of a tautology is a contradiction, which is a statement that is always false.
Sometimes a logical tautology can be quite subtle. Suppose that a news analyst were to make the following statement:
This would seem to be a meaningful statement. But suppose further that he were also to reveal his opinion that "Senator K disagrees, and has therefore shown himself to be outside of the mainstream." In this case, the analyst's definition of "mainstream" requires opposition to the House bill. Therefore his original statement was a tautology.
A linguistic tautology is often a fault of style. It was defined by Fowler as "saying the same thing twice". For example, "three-part trilogy" is tautologous because a trilogy, by definition, has three parts. "Significant milestone" and "significant landmark" are also if less obviously tautologous, because milestones and landmarks are again significant by definition (could one imagine an "insignificant landmark"?).
Tautologies sometimes occur when multiple languages are used together, such as " The La Brea Tar Pits" (the the tar tar pits), , or Shiba Inu Dog. They often appear in conjunction with acronyms or abbreviations, when the original meaning fades through familiarity with the acronym itself; for example, consider " ATMkiosk, or built into the side of banks or other buildings. An automatic teller machine (ATM is an electronic device which allows a bank's customers to make cash withdrawals and check their account balances at any time without the need for a human teller. machine", " HTMLHyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for creating web pages, that is, information presented on the World Wide Web. Defined as a simple "application" of SGML, which is used by organizations with complex publishing requirements, HT language", or " LCDFor other meanings of LCD, see LCD (disambiguation). polarize the light as it enters. Glass substrate with ITO electrodes. The shapes of these electrodes will determine the dark shapes that will appear when the LCD is turned on. Vertical ridges are etched display". (See RAS syndromeRAS syndrome R edundant A cronym S yndrome syndrome is a humourous term referring to the common mistake of using one of the words which make up an acronym or initialism as well as the abbreviation itself, thus essentially repeating that word. This is a fo.)
A tautology may be intended to amplify or emphasize a certain aspect of the thing being discussed: for example, a giftA gift or present is the transfer of money or goods without requiring something in return (at least not immediately); by extension it can be anything that makes the other more happy or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness, and kindness ( is by definition free of charge, but one might talk about a "free gift" if the fact that no money was paid is of particular importance. A tautology could also be used if a non-tautologous expression might not be taken at face value: for example, a business might offer its customers a "free gift", to distinguish itself from other businesses that claim to offer "gifts" but only give them in conjuction with a purchase. Similarly, a tautology could be used if the non-tautologous expression might be ambiguous or might not be understood: although PIN stands for " Personal Identification Number", one might refer to a "PIN number" if the intended audience is unfamiliar with the acronym, or to avoid confusion with the word pinConstruction A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Electronics In Electronics a pin is an electric interconnection. For example a metal wire coming out of an Integrated circuit or Transistor. Trade Someone whose trade is makin. For these reasons, although tautologies are technically unnecessary, and may be considered incorrect, they are nonetheless common in some contexts.
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