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) «phrase»], while circumlocution is Latin – both meaning "phrasing around", as in "avoiding the straightforward way of saying it".) A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetorical figure or device, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. ...

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 mood is periphrastic: it is shown by a verb turned into an auxiliary (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 periphrastic too. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist or linguistician. ... Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... Inflection or inflexion refers to a modification or marking of a word (or more precisely lexeme) so that it reflects grammatical (i. ... There are several meanings of derivation: A derivation in abstract algebra is a linear map that satisfies Leibniz law. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... In grammar, voice is the relationship between the action or state expressed by a verb, and its arguments (subject, object, etc. ...

In a 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 have the word for a particular thing. In the constructed language Basic English this is used to decrease the size of the necessary vocabulary. An artificial or constructed language (known colloquially as a conlang among aficionados), is a language whose phonology, grammar and vocabulary are specifically devised by an individual or small group, rather than having naturally evolved as part of a culture the way natural languages do. ... Basic English is a constructed language with a small number of words created by Charles Kay Ogden and described in his book Basic English: A General Introduction with Rules and Grammar (1930). ...

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. A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces, or in the case of doublespeak to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ...

Outside link

• Circumlocution in figures of speech