periphrasis

[prettygoodword]

periphrasis (puh-RIF-ruh-sis) - n., the use of an unnecessarily long or roundabout form of expression, circumlocution; an expression so phrased.


Such as "I am going to" instead of "I will," or "my father's father" instead of "grandfather." Which is not to say this isn't functional -- sometimes, the longer form is being used to reduce ambiguity, and many definitions in the dictionary are essentially periphrases (note plural form). And sometimes it's being done with euphemisms or to create innuendo. But often, it's someone just being wordy and walking around the statement, to unpack the original Greek meaning: peri, around + phrasein, to express/declare.

---L.

Comments

[mount-oregano.livejournal.com]

"I am going to" and "I will" actually mean different things. "Be going to" refers to set plans or intentions. "I am going to get married" means that the nuptials are not hypothetical. "I will get married" is merely a general statement or prediction or pledge. "Who is going to cook dinner?" is a question asking for a volunteer or designee, and is slightly different from "Who will cook dinner?" which is merely asking for information. There are other hairs to split, but you get the idea.

(Yes, I taught English as a second language, and English has a lot of future forms that don't look like the future, such as the present progressive: "I'm playing tennis tomorrow." My poor students had to learn all those subtle rules that native speakers know so well they don't realize they exist.)

And then there's "gonna," which is not perfectly interchangeable with "going to." For example, "I'm gonna buy a car," and "I'm going to school."

I could go on like this for a semester in one-hour lessons....

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

As I said, sometimes this is a functional thing.

---L.