Periphrasis is a figure of speech where the meaning of a word or phrase is expressed by many or several words. Also known as circumlocution. (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 tense 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. Broadly conceived, linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and a linguist is someone who engages in this study(the more accurate term is linguistician but it is too much of a tongue-twister to become generally accepted. ... Grammar is the study of the rules governing the use of a 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 as with natural languages. ... Basic English is a simplified English 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 or to avoid a rude term. 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. ...