periphrasis (2009-05-17)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: [pe-rê-'fræs-is]

Definition: The figure of speech whereby a longer, descriptive phrase is used in place of a simple word or phrase; circumlocution; the use of several words where one would do.

Usage: Jefferson wrote, "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do;" that is, no periphrasis. But when Rumpole of the Bailey refers to his wife, Hilda, as "she who must be obeyed," he uses periphrasis for humor. While Robert Browning might have thought elsewhere that "less is more," his periphrastic description of evening as "[w]here the quiet-coloured end of evening smiles" in 'Love Among the Ruins,' is far more poetic than one word alone.

Suggested Usage: The plural of today's word is the same as all words ending on –is in English: "periphrases" (cf. "bases," "crises"). The adjective is "periphrastic." In grammar periphrasis refers to the use of two words to do the work of one, such as the complex comparative "more beautiful" as opposed to one word like "prettier".

Etymology: From Greek periphrazein "to paraphrase" based on peri- "around" + phrazein "to say." "Frantic," "frenetic," "frenzy," and the –phrenia in "schizophrenia" are related via Greek phren "the mind."