A.Word.A.Day --periphrastic

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periphrastic

PRONUNCIATION:

(per-uh-FRAS-tik)

MEANING:

adjective, also used as a noun:
1. Using a roundabout form of expression; wordy.
2. Formed by the use of two or more words instead of inflection.

Examples:
"daughter of John" (compared with "John's daughter)
"It did happen" (compared with "It happened")
"more stupid" (compared with "stupider")
"Do you have" (compared with "Have you")

ETYMOLOGY:

Via Latin, from Greek periphrastikos, from periphrazein (to explain around), from peri- (around) + phrazein (to speak, say).

USAGE:

"There is something frustratingly schematic about the characters ... periphrastic leader writer set against a reporter who speaks mostly in grunts and sighs."
Charles Spencer; Alphabetical Order, Hampstead Theatre; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Apr 22, 2009.
[leader = editorial]

"Some people are annoyed by the errors they find in others' choice of grammar or selection of vocabulary. To these guardians of language, there are few more egregious slip-ups (slips-up?) than ... to utilize an inflectional, rather than a periphrastic."
Ammon Shea; Error-Proof; The New York Times; Sep 28, 2009.

See more usage examples of periphrastic in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and even the hated plantain with tall stems, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn. -William Henry Hudson, author and naturalist (1841-1922)

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