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litotes

LITOTES

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | Copyright

LITOTES [Stress: ‘lie-TOE-teez’]. In RHETORIC, a positive and often emphatic statement made by denying something negative, as when St Paul called himself ‘a citizen of no mean city’ (Acts 21:39). Common phrases involving litotes include in no small measure and by no means negligible. See MEIOSIS.
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TOM McARTHUR. "LITOTES." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "LITOTES." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-LITOTES.html

TOM McARTHUR. "LITOTES." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-LITOTES.html

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litotes

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

li·to·tes / ˈlītəˌtēz; ˈlit-; līˈtōtēz/ • n. Rhetoric ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad).

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"litotes." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"litotes." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-litotes.html

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litotes

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

litotes ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g. I shan't be sorry for I shall be glad). Recorded from the late 16th century, the word comes via late Latin from Greek, ultimately from litos ‘plain, meagre’.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "litotes." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "litotes." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-litotes.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "litotes." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-litotes.html

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litotes

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

litotes , figure of speech in which a statement is made by indicating the negative of its opposite, e.g., "not many" meaning "a few." A form of irony , litotes is meant to emphasize by understating. Its opposite is hyperbole .

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litotes

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

litotes (rhet.) affirmative expressed by the negative of the contrary, as ‘a citizen of no mean city’. XVII. — late L. — Gr. lītótēs, f. lītós single, simple, meagre.
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T. F. HOAD. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-litotes.html

T. F. HOAD. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-litotes.html

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litotes

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

litotes, a figure of speech in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary, e.g. ‘a not unhandsome man’; an ironical understatement.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-litotes.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "litotes." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-litotes.html

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litotes

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

litotes •atlantes, Cervantes •Ecclesiastes • penates • gentes •Orestes, testes, Thyestes •Achates, Euphrates •diabetes • striptease •pyrites, Stylites, troglodytes •Orontes • Boötes • Procrustes •Harpocrates, Hippocrates, Isocrates, Socrates •litotes • Surtees • Dives

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"litotes." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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"litotes." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-litotes.html

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