"circumlocution" meaning in All languages combined

See circumlocution on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˌsɝkəmləˈkjuʃən/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav [Southern-England] Forms: circumlocutions [plural]
Rhymes: -uːʃən Etymology: From Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”). By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”), thus "getting around (a problem) in speaking or writing". Probably a calque of Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”). Etymology templates: {{uder|en|la|circumlocūtiō||the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis}} Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”), {{surf|en|circum-|locution|t1=around|t2=talk}} By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”), {{uder|en|grc|περίφρασις||periphrasis}} Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”) Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} circumlocution (countable and uncountable, plural circumlocutions)
  1. (uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:
    (uncountable) Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone).
    Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Talking
    Sense id: en-circumlocution-en-noun-t1YQuERk Disambiguation of Talking: 37 42 21 Categories (other): English terms prefixed with circum- Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with circum-: 32 37 31
  2. (uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:
    (uncountable) Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation.
    Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Talking
    Sense id: en-circumlocution-en-noun-R9QHs1F0 Disambiguation of Talking: 37 42 21 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with topic categories using raw markup, English terms prefixed with circum-, English undefined derivations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 19 56 25 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 30 47 23 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with circum-: 32 37 31 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 27 46 26
  3. (countable) An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one. Tags: countable Categories (topical): Talking Translations (roundabout expression): иносказание (inoskazanie) (Bulgarian), kiertoilmaus (Finnish), περίφραση (perífrasi) [feminine] (Greek), körülírás (Hungarian), circonlocuzione [feminine] (Italian), circumlocūtiō [feminine] (Latin), circunlocução [feminine] (Portuguese), circunlóquio (Portuguese), circunlocución (Spanish), omskrivning (Swedish), giải ngữ (Vietnamese), ngữ giải thích (Vietnamese), cylchymadrodd [masculine] (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-circumlocution-en-noun-9YftZG1R Disambiguation of Talking: 37 42 21 Categories (other): English terms prefixed with circum- Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with circum-: 32 37 31 Disambiguation of 'roundabout expression': 22 22 56
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: ambages, periphrasis Derived forms: circumlocutional, circumlocutionary, circumlocution office, circumlocutious, circumlocutory Translations (roundabout or indirect way of speaking): увъртане (uvǎrtane) [neuter] (Bulgarian), заобикалки (zaobikalki) [plural] (Bulgarian), kiertely (Finnish), jaarittelu (Finnish), pyörittely (Finnish), périphrase [feminine] (French), circonlocution [feminine] (French), Umschweife [masculine, plural] (German), περίφραση (perífrasi) [feminine] (Greek), πολυλογία (polylogía) (Greek), köntörfalazás (Hungarian), kertelés (Hungarian), giro di parole (Italian), perifrasi (Italian), اطناب (etnâb) (Persian), درازگویی (derâz-guyi) (Persian), circunlocução [feminine] (Portuguese), circunlóquio [masculine] (Portuguese), circunlocución (Spanish), rodeos [masculine, plural] (Spanish), ambages [masculine, plural] (Spanish), circunloquios [masculine, plural] (Spanish), omsvep [neuter, plural] (Swedish), giải ngữ (Vietnamese), ngữ giải thích (Vietnamese)
Related terms: pleonasm, beat around the bush, go around the houses, euphemism, mince words, mince matters, equivocation (english: the use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading), evasive (english: tending to avoid speaking openly or making revelations about oneself), prevarication (english: evasion of the truth; deceit, evasiveness), hedge (english: to avoid verbal commitment), waffle (english: to speak or write vaguely and evasively; to speak or write at length without any clear point or aim) Disambiguation of 'roundabout or indirect way of speaking': 46 46 7

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for circumlocution meaning in All languages combined (13.6kB)

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "circumlocutional"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "circumlocutionary"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "circumlocution office"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "circumlocutious"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "circumlocutory"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "circumlocūtiō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”)",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "circum-",
        "3": "locution",
        "t1": "around",
        "t2": "talk"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”)",
      "name": "surf"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "περίφρασις",
        "4": "",
        "5": "periphrasis"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”)",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”). By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”), thus \"getting around (a problem) in speaking or writing\". Probably a calque of Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "circumlocutions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "circumlocution (countable and uncountable, plural circumlocutions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "cir‧cum‧lo‧cu‧tion"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "pleonasm"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "beat around the bush"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "go around the houses"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "euphemism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "mince words"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "mince matters"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "english": "the use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading",
      "word": "equivocation"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "english": "tending to avoid speaking openly or making revelations about oneself",
      "word": "evasive"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "english": "evasion of the truth; deceit, evasiveness",
      "word": "prevarication"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "english": "to avoid verbal commitment",
      "word": "hedge"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "english": "to speak or write vaguely and evasively; to speak or write at length without any clear point or aim",
      "word": "waffle"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 37 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with circum-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 42 21",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Talking",
          "orig": "en:Talking",
          "parents": [
            "Human behaviour",
            "Language",
            "Human",
            "Communication",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone)."
      ],
      "id": "en-circumlocution-en-noun-t1YQuERk",
      "links": [
        [
          "roundabout",
          "roundabout"
        ],
        [
          "indirect",
          "indirect"
        ],
        [
          "pleonastic",
          "pleonasm"
        ],
        [
          "emphatic",
          "emphasis"
        ],
        [
          "wordy",
          "wordy"
        ],
        [
          "euphemistic",
          "euphemism"
        ],
        [
          "pedagogic",
          "pedagogy"
        ],
        [
          "loquacious",
          "loquacious"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "(uncountable) Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "19 56 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 47 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 37 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with circum-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 46 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English undefined derivations",
          "parents": [
            "Undefined derivations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 42 21",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Talking",
          "orig": "en:Talking",
          "parents": [
            "Human behaviour",
            "Language",
            "Human",
            "Communication",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997, Hansjörg Bittner, The Metrical Structure of Free Verse (PhD Thesis), retrieved 2021-04-21",
          "text": "It may seem quite straightforward to render line 15 metrically regular by means of a grammatical trick: \"the style as bright as soul\". However, the stylistic feature of the adjectival compound does not occur in isolation but is employed again in the following line, \"dem Staubfaden himmelswüst\", where a grammatical circumlocution in translation would be metrically disadvantageous. Both compounds, \"seelenhell\" as well as \"himmelswüst\", should therefore be translated as compounds. When Michael Hamburger remarks that German \"lends itself to the formation of compound words in a way that English does not\" (in Celan 1988: 24), he probably refers to nouns such as \"Türspalt\" or \"Algenteilchen\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Rebecca A. Giggs, The Rise of the Edge: New Thresholds of the Ecological Uncanny, and Inside Albatrosses (Fictions for Strange Weather) (PhD Thesis), retrieved 2021-04-21",
          "text": "Linguistic horror vacui again, and lacuna: the blank part of a manuscript where the ink runs off the papyrus, and lexically the word missing from one language that must be bridged with circumlocution in translation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "A technical word, such as hyperkalemia or hypoallergenic, can be glossed for general audiences with a circumlocution, such as \"high potassium level\" or \"less likely to cause allergies\" (respectively).",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation."
      ],
      "id": "en-circumlocution-en-noun-R9QHs1F0",
      "links": [
        [
          "roundabout",
          "roundabout"
        ],
        [
          "indirect",
          "indirect"
        ],
        [
          "circumvent",
          "circumvent"
        ],
        [
          "vocabulary",
          "vocabulary"
        ],
        [
          "monolingually",
          "monolingually"
        ],
        [
          "translation",
          "translation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "(uncountable) Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 37 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with circum-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 42 21",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Talking",
          "orig": "en:Talking",
          "parents": [
            "Human behaviour",
            "Language",
            "Human",
            "Communication",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one."
      ],
      "id": "en-circumlocution-en-noun-9YftZG1R",
      "links": [
        [
          "expression",
          "expression"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "inoskazanie",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "иносказание"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "kiertoilmaus"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "perífrasi",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "περίφραση"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "körülírás"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "circonlocuzione"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "circumlocūtiō"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "circunlocução"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "circunlóquio"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "circunlocución"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "omskrivning"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "giải ngữ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "word": "ngữ giải thích"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 22 56",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "roundabout expression",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cylchymadrodd"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌsɝkəmləˈkjuʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːʃən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/35/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/35/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ambages"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "periphrasis"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "uvǎrtane",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "увъртане"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "zaobikalki",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "заобикалки"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "kiertely"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "jaarittelu"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "pyörittely"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "périphrase"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circonlocution"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "Umschweife"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "perífrasi",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "περίφραση"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "polylogía",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "πολυλογία"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "köntörfalazás"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "kertelés"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "giro di parole"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "perifrasi"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "etnâb",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "اطناب"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "derâz-guyi",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "درازگویی"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circunlocução"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "circunlóquio"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "circunlocución"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "rodeos"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "ambages"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "circunloquios"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "neuter",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "omsvep"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "giải ngữ"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "46 46 7",
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "ngữ giải thích"
    }
  ],
  "word": "circumlocution"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 5-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms prefixed with circum-",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Rhymes:English/uːʃən",
    "Rhymes:English/uːʃən/5 syllables",
    "en:Talking"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "circumlocutional"
    },
    {
      "word": "circumlocutionary"
    },
    {
      "word": "circumlocution office"
    },
    {
      "word": "circumlocutious"
    },
    {
      "word": "circumlocutory"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "circumlocūtiō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”)",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "circum-",
        "3": "locution",
        "t1": "around",
        "t2": "talk"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”)",
      "name": "surf"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "περίφρασις",
        "4": "",
        "5": "periphrasis"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”)",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”). By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”), thus \"getting around (a problem) in speaking or writing\". Probably a calque of Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "circumlocutions",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "circumlocution (countable and uncountable, plural circumlocutions)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "cir‧cum‧lo‧cu‧tion"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "pleonasm"
    },
    {
      "word": "beat around the bush"
    },
    {
      "word": "go around the houses"
    },
    {
      "word": "euphemism"
    },
    {
      "word": "mince words"
    },
    {
      "word": "mince matters"
    },
    {
      "english": "the use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading",
      "word": "equivocation"
    },
    {
      "english": "tending to avoid speaking openly or making revelations about oneself",
      "word": "evasive"
    },
    {
      "english": "evasion of the truth; deceit, evasiveness",
      "word": "prevarication"
    },
    {
      "english": "to avoid verbal commitment",
      "word": "hedge"
    },
    {
      "english": "to speak or write vaguely and evasively; to speak or write at length without any clear point or aim",
      "word": "waffle"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "roundabout",
          "roundabout"
        ],
        [
          "indirect",
          "indirect"
        ],
        [
          "pleonastic",
          "pleonasm"
        ],
        [
          "emphatic",
          "emphasis"
        ],
        [
          "wordy",
          "wordy"
        ],
        [
          "euphemistic",
          "euphemism"
        ],
        [
          "pedagogic",
          "pedagogy"
        ],
        [
          "loquacious",
          "loquacious"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "(uncountable) Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English uncountable nouns"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1997, Hansjörg Bittner, The Metrical Structure of Free Verse (PhD Thesis), retrieved 2021-04-21",
          "text": "It may seem quite straightforward to render line 15 metrically regular by means of a grammatical trick: \"the style as bright as soul\". However, the stylistic feature of the adjectival compound does not occur in isolation but is employed again in the following line, \"dem Staubfaden himmelswüst\", where a grammatical circumlocution in translation would be metrically disadvantageous. Both compounds, \"seelenhell\" as well as \"himmelswüst\", should therefore be translated as compounds. When Michael Hamburger remarks that German \"lends itself to the formation of compound words in a way that English does not\" (in Celan 1988: 24), he probably refers to nouns such as \"Türspalt\" or \"Algenteilchen\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Rebecca A. Giggs, The Rise of the Edge: New Thresholds of the Ecological Uncanny, and Inside Albatrosses (Fictions for Strange Weather) (PhD Thesis), retrieved 2021-04-21",
          "text": "Linguistic horror vacui again, and lacuna: the blank part of a manuscript where the ink runs off the papyrus, and lexically the word missing from one language that must be bridged with circumlocution in translation.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "A technical word, such as hyperkalemia or hypoallergenic, can be glossed for general audiences with a circumlocution, such as \"high potassium level\" or \"less likely to cause allergies\" (respectively).",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "roundabout",
          "roundabout"
        ],
        [
          "indirect",
          "indirect"
        ],
        [
          "circumvent",
          "circumvent"
        ],
        [
          "vocabulary",
          "vocabulary"
        ],
        [
          "monolingually",
          "monolingually"
        ],
        [
          "translation",
          "translation"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:",
        "(uncountable) Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "expression",
          "expression"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌsɝkəmləˈkjuʃən/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːʃən"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/35/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/35/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-circumlocution.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "ambages"
    },
    {
      "word": "periphrasis"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "uvǎrtane",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "увъртане"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "zaobikalki",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "заобикалки"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "kiertely"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "jaarittelu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "pyörittely"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "périphrase"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circonlocution"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "Umschweife"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "perífrasi",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "περίφραση"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "polylogía",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "πολυλογία"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "köntörfalazás"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "kertelés"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "giro di parole"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "perifrasi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "etnâb",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "اطناب"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "derâz-guyi",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "درازگویی"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circunlocução"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "circunlóquio"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "circunlocución"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "rodeos"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "ambages"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "circunloquios"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "tags": [
        "neuter",
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "omsvep"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "giải ngữ"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout or indirect way of speaking",
      "word": "ngữ giải thích"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "inoskazanie",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "иносказание"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "kiertoilmaus"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "perífrasi",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "περίφραση"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "körülírás"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circonlocuzione"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circumlocūtiō"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "circunlocução"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "circunlóquio"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "circunlocución"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "omskrivning"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "giải ngữ"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "word": "ngữ giải thích"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "roundabout expression",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cylchymadrodd"
    }
  ],
  "word": "circumlocution"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.