a style of Latin writing that probably originated in the British Isles in the 7th century. It is characterized by extreme obscurity intentionally produced by periphrasis (preference for a longer phrase over a shorter, equally adequate phrase), coinage of new words, and very liberal use of loanwords to express quite ordinary meanings. The style takes its name from the Hisperica famina (“Hisperic Sayings”), a work probably composed in Ireland in the mid-7th century.

The word is from the Medieval Latin Hispericus (an alteration of Hespericus), “Western” or “Latin,” hence probably meaning (in reference to Latin style) “urbane” or “elegant.”