periphrasis

[ puh-rif-ruh-sis ]

noun

, plural pe·riph·ra·ses [p, uh, -, rif, -r, uh, -seez].

1. the use of an unnecessarily long or roundabout form of expression; circumlocution.
2. an expression phrased in such fashion.

periphrasis

/ pəˈrɪfrəsɪs /

noun

1. a roundabout way of expressing something; circumlocution
2. an expression of this kind

Word History and Origins

Origin of periphrasis¹

1525–35; < Latin < Greek períphrasis. See peri-, phrase, -sis

Word History and Origins

Origin of periphrasis¹

C16: via Latin from Greek, from peri- + phrazein to declare

Example Sentences

Prince Bumpo, the heir to the throne, is a mooncalf who mistakes fairy tales for real life, speaks in Elizabethan periphrasis and murmurs to himself: “If only I were a white prince!”

From New York Times

This will sometimes require the use of unfamiliar periphrases: the words “music” and “rites” may be given as “the rhythm of life” and “conformity to the ideology.”

From Project Gutenberg

It is very odd—but if you see a remarkably modest-looking woman in Paris, you may be sure, as the periphrasis goes, that "she is no better than she should be."

From Project Gutenberg

What hasty words, I wonder, of the rude and haughty admiral were represented by this sonorous periphrasis?

From Project Gutenberg

He gradually acquired a reputation as a poet by his epistles, in which things are not called by their ordinary names but are hinted at by elaborate periphrases.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attrition