periphrasis

noun

pe·​riph·​ra·​sis pə-ˈri-frə-səs 

plural periphrases pə-ˈri-frə-ˌsēz 

1

: use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter form of expression

2

: an instance of periphrasis

Did you know?

It's easy enough to point out the origins of periphrasis: the word was borrowed into English in the early 16th century via Latin from Greek periphrazein, which in turn comes from the prefix peri-, meaning "all around," and the verb phrazein, "to point out." Two common descendants of phrazein in English are phrase and paraphrase, the latter of which combines phrazein with the prefix para-, meaning "closely resembling." Another phrazein descendant is the less familiar word holophrasis, meaning "the expression of a complex of ideas in a single word or in a fixed phrase." (The prefix holo- can mean "completely.")

Synonyms

• circumlocution
• diffuseness
• diffusion
• garrulity
• garrulousness
• logorrhea
• long-windedness
• prolixity
• redundancy
• verbalism
• verbiage
• verboseness
• verbosity
• windiness
• wordage
• wordiness

Examples of periphrasis in a Sentence

congressional hearings into the Watergate scandal were marked by an orgy of periphrasis, the expression “at this point in time” being a memorable example

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek, from periphrazein to express periphrastically, from peri- + phrazein to point out

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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