Periphrastus

Periphrastus is a term used in rhetoric and linguistics to denote a person who uses periphrasis, or circumlocution, in speech or writing. The form derives from the Greek periphrastēs, meaning “one who speaks around” or “circumlocutor.” In English, the noun is sometimes rendered as periphrast or periphrastēs, though the more common related terms are periphrase, periphrasis, and circumlocution.

In practice, a periphrast is someone who expresses a concept with a descriptive phrase rather than a concise term. Periphrasis is a figure of speech widely employed for stylistic effect, emphasis, or decorum, and it can appear in poetry, prose, or oratory. Examples include referring to a monarch as “the sovereign of the realm” instead of simply “the king,” or describing a city as “the large metropolis on the coast” rather than naming it directly. The use of circumlocution may aid in nuance, formality, or rhetorical persuasion, but it can also result in wordiness if overused.

The term is primarily of historical and descriptive interest within classical rhetoric and philology. It is distinct from related but unrelated terms such as the Peripatetic school, which derives from Aristotle’s walking lectures, and from Theophrastus, Aristotle’s successor. While periphrasis remains a common concept in linguistic study, “periphrastus” as a standalone noun is rarely used in modern drafting outside scholarly discussions of rhetorical style. See also periphrase, circumlocution, and peripatetic.