litotes

litotes
/luy"teuh teez', lit"euh-, luy toh"teez/, n., pl. litotes. Rhet.
understatement, esp. that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, as in "not bad at all." Cf. hyperbole.
[1650-60; < NL < Gk litótes orig., plainness, simplicity, deriv. of litós plain, small, meager]

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      a figure of speech, conscious understatement in which emphasis is achieved by negation; examples are the common expressions “not bad!” and “no mean feat.” Litotes is a stylistic feature of Old English poetry and of the Icelandic sagas, and it is responsible for much of their characteristic stoical restraint. The term meiosis means understatement generally, and litotes is considered a form of meiosis.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Litotes — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda La litotes, lítotes o litote, también llamada atenuación, es una figura retórica, relacionada con la ironía y el eufemismo, en que, para afirmar algo, se disminuye o niega lo que se dice. Ejemplos ¡Estás poco a gusto …   Wikipedia Español

  • lítotes — o litotes. (Del b. lat. litŏtes, y este del gr. λιτότης). f. Ret. atenuación (ǁ figura retórica) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • litotes — lítotes o litotes. (Del b. lat. litŏtes, y este del gr. λιτότης). f. Ret. atenuación (ǁ figura retórica) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • lítotes — (plural lítotes) sustantivo femenino 1. Área: retórica Figura retórica que consiste en moderar una opinión o una afirmación negando lo contrario de lo que desea afirmar: No me molestas nada en vez de estoy muy a gusto contigo es una lítotes.… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • litotes — lítotes o litotes (Del b. lat. litŏtes, y este del gr. λιτότης). f. Ret. atenuación (ǁ figura retórica) …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • lítotes — o litotes (Del b. lat. litŏtes, y este del gr. λιτότης). f. Ret. atenuación (ǁ figura retórica) …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • litotes — rhetorical figure in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its opposite, from Gk. litotes, lit. plainness, simplicity, from litos smooth, plain, small, meager, from PIE root * (s)lei slimy, sticky, slippery (hence smooth ); see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • litotes — pronounced liy toh teez or li toh teez, is a figure of speech in which an assertion is made by means of understatement or denial of an opposite, as when St Paul declared that he was ‘a citizen of no mean city’ (Acts 21:39). Typical modern… …   Modern English usage

  • litotes — [līt′ə tēz΄, lī tōt′ēz] n. [Gr litotēs < litos, smooth, simple, plain, akin to leios: see LIME1] understatement for effect, esp. such understatement in which something is expressed by a negation of the contrary (Ex.: not a few regrets) litotic …   English World dictionary

  • Litotes — Li to*tes (l[imac] t[ o]*t[=e]z), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lito ths, from lito s plain, simple.] (Rhet.) A diminution or softening of statement for the sake of avoiding censure or increasing the effect by contrast with the moderation shown in the form of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Litŏtes — (v. gr.), die Milderung, Geringfügigkeit, eine rhetorische Figur, nach welcher man einen scheinbar verkleinernden (mildernden) Ausdruck wählt, um die Sache desto mehr hervorzuheben, also mehr sagt, als man zu sagen scheint, z.B. ich bringe Dir… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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