Glossary of Rhetoric Terms - B

B

• Backing. Supporting an argument's merit.

• Barbarism. Use of a non-standard word, expression or pronunciation in a language, particularly one prescriptively regarded as an error in morphology.

• Bases. The issues at question in a judicial case.

• Bdelygmia. Expression of hatred or contempt.

• Belles lettres. Written works considered quality because they are pleasing to the senses.

• Belletristic Movement. Movement of rhetoric in the late 18th and early 19th centuries emphasizing stylistic considerations of rhetoric. It also expanded rhetoric into a study of literature and literary criticism and writing.

• Bomphiologia. Bombastic speech: a rhetorical technique wherein the speaker brags excessively

• Brachylogia. Brevity of diction

• Brevitas. Concise expression

• Burden of proof. Theory of argument giving the obligation of proving a case to the challenging party.