litotes
英 [laɪ'təʊtiːz]
美 [laɪ'totiz]
助记提示
1. from Greek litotes, literally "plainness, simplicity," from litos "smooth, plain, small, meager".
2. It is principally via double negatives. For example, rather than saying that something is attractive (or even very attractive), one might merely say it is "not unattractive".
3. Litotes is a form of understatement.
中文词源
litotes 反叙法（用否定或较弱的证据加强表示肯定）来自希腊语litotes,平白，浅显，来自PIE*slei,黏的，滑的，词源同lime,slime,littoral.用于指语言学反叙法。
英文词源
- litotes (n.)
- rhetorical figure in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its opposite, from Greek litotes, literally "plainness, simplicity," from litos "smooth, plain, small, meager," from PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy, sticky, slippery" (hence "smooth"); see slime (n.).