periphrasis

[puh-rif-ruh-sis]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR periphrasis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural pe·riph·ra·ses [puh-rif-ruh-seez] /pəˈrɪf rəˌsiz/.

the use of an unnecessarily long or roundabout form of expression; circumlocution.

an expression phrased in such fashion.

Also per·i·phrase

[per-uh-freyz] /ˈpɛr əˌfreɪz/.

Origin of periphrasis

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for periphrasis

attrition, redundancy, verbosity, circumlocution, loquacity, prolixity, pleonasm, floridity, tautology, periphrasis, expansiveness, profusion, overabundance, superabundance, superfluity, verboseness, verbiage, supererogation, diffusion, garrulity

Examples from the Web for periphrasis

Historical Examples of periphrasis

By this periphrasis Waverley readily apprehended his portmanteau was intended.
Waverley
Sir Walter Scott
As a periphrasis, the combination in other words is subdisjunctive.
A Handbook of the English Language
Robert Gordon Latham
The periphrasis is a metaphor, and thus has the same life-span as a metaphor.
Decadence and Other Essays on the Culture of Ideas
Remy de Gourmont
As a periphrasis the combination in other words is subdisjunctive.
The English Language
Robert Gordon Latham
"Prop of sea-waves' fire," a periphrasis for a woman that bears gold on her arm.
The story of Burnt Njal
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for periphrasis

periphrasis

noun plural -rases (-rəˌsiːz)

a roundabout way of expressing something; circumlocution

an expression of this kind

Word Origin for periphrasis

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for periphrasis

1530s, from Latin periphrasis "circumlocution," from Greek periphrasis, from periphrazein "speak in a roundabout way," from peri- "round about" (see peri-) + phrazein "to express" (see phrase (n.)).