| circumlocution |
| cir-cum-lo-cu'-tion | L. “talking around” |
| circumlocutio, circumitio | |
| periphrasis (perifrasis) | |
| the figure of ambage |
 |
As the name implies, "talking around" something, usually by supplying a descriptive phrase in place of a name (=periphrasis). | |
| Circumlocutions are rhetorically useful as euphemisms, as a method of amplification, or to hint at something without stating it. | ||
| Examples | ||
| Laertes,
urging Ophelia to keep clear of Hamlet, refers to her virginity metaphorically
through a circumlocation: ...Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open To his unmast'red importunity. —Shakespeare, Hamlet 1.3.31-32 |
||
| Related Figures | ||
| Related Topics of Invention | ||
|
||
| See Also | ||
| Sources: | Ad Herennium 4.32.43 ("circumitio"); Bede 614 ("perifrasis"); Putt. (1589) 203 ("periphrasis," "the figure of ambage") | |
|
|
