periphrasis (n.)

A term used in GRAMMATICAL DESCRIPTION to refer to the use of separate WORDS instead of INFLECTIONS to express the same grammatical relationship. In English, for example, the COMPARISON of ADJECTIVES involves both inflection (e.g. happier, happiest) and periphrasis (e.g. more happy, most happy – the periphrastic forms), though most adjectives use only one or other of these possibilities (cf. *more big, *interestinger).