circumlocutory
English edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adjective edit
circumlocutory (comparative more circumlocutory, superlative most circumlocutory)
- Characterised by circumlocution; overly wordy
- Synonyms: periphrastic, verbose
- 1727, Jonathan Swift (attributed), Martinus Scriblerus, or the Art of Sinking In Poetry
- Periphrase is another great aid to prolixity; being a diffused circumlocutory manner of expressing a known idea, which should be so mysteriously couched, as to give the reader the pleasure of guessing what it is, that the author can possibly mean; and a strange surprise, when he finds it.
- 1864, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, chapter LII, in Wylder’s Hand. […], New York, N.Y.: Carleton, […], published 1865, →OCLC:
- Rachel's talks with the vicar were frequent; and poor little Mrs. William Wylder, who knew not the reason of his visits, fell slowly, and to the good man's entire bewilderment, into a chronic jealousy. It expressed itself enigmatically; it was circumlocutory, sad, and mysterious.
- 2000, Joanne Green, Neuropsychological Evaluation of the Older Adult:
- Another common type of error is a circumlocutory error, when the patient describes the item in several words (e.g., describing a beaver as "an animal that eats trees").
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
References edit
- “circumlocutory”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.