circumlocutory
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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.