PER'IPHRASE, noun s as z. [Gr. about, and to speak.] Circumlocution; a circuit of words; the use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a figure of rhetoric employed to avoid a common and trite manner of expression. PER'IPHRASE, verb transitive To express by circumlocution. PER'IPHRASE, verb intransitive To use circumlocution.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI