| meiosis |
| Definition: A figure of speech where understatement is used to increase emphasis. |
| Example: Always referring to your amputated arm as "my inconvenience." |
| Etymology: The word was taken directly from the Greek where it means "lessening" (from the Greek meion, less). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1586: "Meiosis, a manner of disabling, as when we say, Alas Sir, it is not in my power to doe it." (A. Day, Eng. Secretary ii. (1625), 84) |