Periphrasis
Periphrasis, like its Latin counterpart
circumlocution, is a
figure of speech where the meaning of a word or phrase is indirectly expressed through several or many words. (
Periphrasis is of Greek origin [
περίφρασις <
peri (περί) "about, around" +
phrasis (φράσις) "speech, expression"], while
circumlocution is Latin—both meaning "a roundabout manner of speaking".)
In
linguistics, periphrasis is a device by which a
grammatical concept is expressed by a phrase or standard idiom, instead of being shown by
inflection,
derivation or the use of non-content words. The pattern of the phrase is called a periphrastic construction. For example, the
English future tense is periphrastic: it is formed with an auxiliary verb (
will) followed by the base form of the main verb. The so-called compound tenses and all the modal expressions in English, as well as the
passive voice, are also periphrastic.
In a more general sense, circumlocution and periphrasis mean describing a word with other words, for example: "scissors" = "a thing you use to cut other things". Circumlocution is often helpful while learning a new language, when one does not know the word for a particular thing. In the
constructed language Basic English this is used to decrease the size of the necessary vocabulary.
Circumlocution also means replacing a word with another (or others), often in order to sound more polite, to avoid a rude term or to be ironic. In this context, see also
euphemism.
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Circumlocution in figures of speech
