paraphrastic

[par-uh-fras-tik]

adjective

having the nature of a paraphrase.

Origin of paraphrastic

1615–25; < Medieval Latin paraphrasticus < Greek paraphrastikós. See paraphrast, -ic

Related formspar·a·phras·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for paraphrastic

Historical Examples of paraphrastic

It is elegant and faithful, but somewhat formal and paraphrastic.
The Genius of Scotland
Robert Turnbull
The Latin was sufficiently correct, but the version was paraphrastic, which I observed.
Shelley at Oxford
Thomas Jefferson Hogg
The following paragraphs contain an abbreviated and paraphrastic translation of the preface.
An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in which from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams
Pierre Nicole
Warburton, to evade Voltaire's criticism, put a strained and paraphrastic interpretation upon Pope's lines.
The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10)
Alexander Pope
The same kind of paraphrastic dilution runs through the volume; nor is Mr. Muirhead wholly to blame.
The Book-Collector
William Carew Hazlitt

Word Origin and History for paraphrastic

adj.

from Medieval Latin paraphrasticus, from Greek paraphrastikos, from paraphrastes "one who paraphrases," from paraphrazein (see paraphrase (n.)). Related: Paraphrastical (1540s).