circonlocution

Forms

circonlocution f (plural circonlocutions)^[1] 13th-century circonlocuciom, read ciconlocuciom by the TLFi; the modern spelling is found in the 14th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin circumlocūtiō (“roundabout way of speaking”), a compound of circum- (“around”) and locūtiō (“speech, expression”).^[3][4][2] Littré traces the second part to loquor (“to speak”).^[5] The Latin word translates Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis), the source of périphrase.^[3][6][7] Wiktionary notes that in French it can also be read as from French circon- + locution.^[1]

Cognate with Italian circonlocuzione and Old Occitan circumlocutio.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the 13th century, in a poem on confession, with the sense of a roundabout way of saying something.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its Latin sense: speech that goes around a subject instead of naming it, to hide one's thought or to soften what one has to say.^[2][3] In this use it competed with circuit, now archaic in that sense, and with circonvolution.^[2] A 14th-century quotation in Littré, from Bersuire, already speaks of explaining words par grandes declarations et circonloquutions.^[5]

Timeline

• 13th century – First recorded as circonlocuciom in a poem on confession.^[3][2]
• 14th century – The spelling circonlocution appears in a psalter.^[3]
• 14th century – Bersuire writes of circonloquutions used to explain words.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A circumlocution: an indirect, cautious way of expressing a thought, avoiding the exact term, often in the plural: Il nous a annoncé la nouvelle sans circonlocutions.^[8][3][9]

Related words

• périphrase
• locution
• Latin circumlocūtiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 397b
5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse