circumlocution

noun

1. (uncountable)A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus

   “Circumlocution is a large deſcription either to ſette forth a thyng more gorgiouſlie, or els to hyde it, if the eares cannot beare the open ſpeakyng: or when with fewe woordes we cannot open our meanyng, to ſpeake it more largely.”

   “His Majeſty leaves the choice to your ſelf, and requires from you a direct Anſwer without circumlocution or bargaining with him […]”

2. (uncountable)A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:
3. (uncountable)A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:

   “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).”

   “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.”

4. (countable)An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one.