The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Periphrasis \Pe*riph"ra*sis\, n.; pl. Periphrases. [L.] See Periphrase. [1913 Webster] PeriphrasticWordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
periphrasis n 1: a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things [syn: circumlocution, periphrasis, ambage]