A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem.
[Greek lītotēs, from lītos, plain.]
litotes
Dictionary:
li·to·tes (lī'tə-tēz', lĭt'ə-, lī-tō'tēz)  |
| Literary Dictionary: litotes |
litotes
| Columbia Encyclopedia: litotes |
| Poetry Glossary: Litotes |
A type of meiosis (understatement) in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary.
| Wikipedia: Litotes |
In rhetoric, litotes[1] is a figure of speech in which a certain statement is expressed by denying its opposite. For example, rather than merely saying that a person is rather attractive (or even very attractive), one might say that he or she is "not unattractive."
Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis.[2] However, the interpretation of litotes can depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent".
The use of litotes appeals specifically to certain cultures including the northern Europeans and is popular in English. It is a feature of Old English poetry and of the Icelandic sagas and is a means of much stoical restraint.[3]
Contents |
Examples
| Litotes: | As a means of saying: |
| "Not bad." | "Good." |
| "[…] no ordinary city." Acts 21:39 (NIV) | "[…] a very impressive city." |
| "That [sword] was not useless / to the warrior now." (Beowulf) | "The sword was useful." |
| "He was not unfamiliar with the works of Dickens." | "He was well acquainted with the works of Dickens." |
| "She is not so unkind." | "She is kind." |
| "She was not a little cross." | "She was very cross." |
| "I am not unwell." | "I am fine." |
| "You're not wrong." (Australian English) | "You're right." |
| "I couldn't disagree less." (double litotes) | "I agree." |
Other languages
Litotes is also used in languages other than English.
In French, "il n'est pas antipathique" (trans.: "he is not disagreeable") is an example, actually meaning "il est très sympathique" (trans.: "he is nice"), though you don't want to admit it. Another typical example is : "C'est pas bête!" (It's not dumb) generally to describe a smart suggestion.
One of the most famous litotes of French literature is to be found in Pierre Corneille's Le Cid (1636). The heroine, Chimène, says to her lover Rodrigue, who just killed her father: "Va, je ne te hais point" ("Go, I hate you not"), meaning also "I love you".
In Chinese, the phrase "不错" (literally 'not wrong') is often used to present something as very good or correct.
In Latin, an example of litotes can be found in Ovid's Metamorphoses: "non semel" (bk. 1 ln. 692) => 'not one occasion'= 'on more than one occasion'. Some common words are derived from litotes: "nonnulli" from "non nulli" ("not none") is understood to mean "several", while "nonnumquam" from "non numquam" ("not never") is used for "sometimes".
In German, the phrase "nicht schlecht" (transl.: "not bad") has a similar intonation-dependent scope of meaning as its English counterpart.
See also
 |
Look up litotes in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Notes
- ^ pronounced /laɪˈtoʊtiːz/ according to British dictionaries (e.g. AskOxford); American dictionaries prefer the pronunciation /ˈlaɪtətiːz/ (e.g. American Heritage).
- ^ Smyth 1920 p.680
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984) Micropedia VI p. 266 "litotes"
References
- Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920). Greek Grammar. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 680. ISBN 0-674-36250-0.
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd. Read more |
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| Poetry Glossary. Copyright © 2007, ILOVEPOETRY, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Litotes". Read more |
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