Where does “litote” come from?
litote (English) comes from English litotes, from Latin litotes, from Ancient Greek λιτότης, from Ancient Greek -τής, from Ancient Greek πεῖρα, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
litote (English): An instance of litotes
Definitions
- An instance of litotes
Ancestry of “litote”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | litotes | An ironic figure of speech whereby something is... |
| 2 | Latin | litotes | litotes |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | λιτότης | plainness, simplicity; litotes, understatement |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |