Periphrasis

periphrasis n (pl -ases ) (fml 文) 1 (a) [U] roundabout way of expressing sth; circumlocution 折绕; 迂说法; 婉曲. (b) [C] roundabout expression in speaking or writing, eg `give expression to' instead of `express' 折绕语, 婉曲修辞（如用give expression to而不用express）. 2 (grammar) (a) [U] use of an auxiliary word or a syntactic pattern in place of an inflected form, eg `It does work' for `It works' or `the word of God' for `God's word' 迂说法（用助动词或句法形式而不用动词词尾变化形式, 如用It does work代替It works或用the word of God代替God's word）. (b) [C] example of this 迂说.