Circumlocution (also called circumduction, circumvolution,

periphrasis In linguistics and literature, periphrasis () is the use of a larger number of words, with an implicit comparison to the possibility of using fewer. The comparison may be within a language or between languages. For example, "more happy" is periph ...

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...

, or ambage) is the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea. It is sometimes necessary in

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

(for example, to work around lexical gaps that might otherwise lead to

untranslatability Untranslatability is the property of text or speech for which no equivalent can be found when translated into another (given) language. A text that is considered to be untranslatable is considered a ''lacuna'', or lexical gap. The term arises w ...

), but it can also be undesirable (when an uncommon or easily misunderstood

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or Denotation, literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, et ...

is used). It can also come in the form of roundabout speech wherein many words are used to describe something that already has a common and concise term (for example, saying "a tool used for cutting things such as paper and hair" instead of "

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

"). Most dictionaries use circumlocution to define words. Circumlocution is often used by people with

aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

and people learning a new language, where simple terms can be paraphrased to aid learning or communication (for example, paraphrasing the word "grandfather" as "the father of one's father"). Among other usages, circumlocution can be used to construct

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...

s, and

equivocation In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument. It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase ...

Language acquisition

Circumlocution is often used by beginner and intermediate second language speakers to convey the meaning of a word they don't know in their target language.

Relative clause A relative clause is a clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase and uses some grammatical device to indicate that one of the arguments in the relative clause refers to the noun or noun phrase. For example, in the sentence ''I met a man who wasn ...

s are often used for circumlocution in English. For example,

irefightersare the people ''who'' you call when your house is on fire. A pideris an arachnid ''that'' catches insects in its web.

Synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

s and

simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...

are two other common circumlocution strategies. A pomegranate could be described using these techniques as follows:

It's a kind of fruit, it's red and it has lots and lots of little seeds in it.

Euphemisms

''Euphemistic language'' often uses circumlocution to avoid saying words that are

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

or considered offensive. For example, "Holy mother of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

!" is a circumlocution of " Mary!", but "heck", while still euphemistic, is not a circumlocution of "

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

". Euphemistic circumlocution is also used to avoid saying "unlucky words"—words which are taboo for reasons connected with

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

: for example, calling the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

"Old Nick","Speak of the devil, and he will appear" is the proverb. calling

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

the Scottish Play ''The Scottish Play'' and ''the Bard's play'' are euphemism, euphemisms for the William Shakespeare play ''Macbeth''. The first is a reference to the play's Scotland, Scottish setting, and the second is a reference to Shakespeare's popular ni ...

" or saying "

baker's dozen A dozen (commonly abbreviated doz or dz) is a grouping of twelve. The dozen may be one of the earliest primitive integer groupings, perhaps because there are approximately a dozen cycles of the Moon, or months, in a cycle of the Sun, or year ...

" instead of thirteen.

Innuendo

''Innuendo'' refers to something suggested but not explicitly stated.

Equivocation

''Equivocation'' is the use of ambiguous language to avoid telling the truth or forming commitments.New Oxford American Dictionary 2nd edition 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Rhetoric Figures of speech Poetry articles needing expert attention