λιτότης

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From λῑτός (lītós, “plain, frugal, simple”) +‎ -της (-tēs).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /liː.tó.tɛːs/ → /liˈto.tis/ → /liˈto.tis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /liː.tó.tɛːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /liˈto.te̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /liˈto.tis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /liˈto.tis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /liˈto.tis/

Noun

λῑτότης • (lītótēs) f (genitive λῑτότητος); third declension

1. plainness, simplicity
2. (grammar, rhetoric) litotes, understatement

Declension

Third declension of ἡ λῑτότης; τῆς λῑτότητος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ λῑτότης hē lītótēs	τὼ λῑτότητε tṑ lītótēte	αἱ λῑτότητες hai lītótētes
Genitive	τῆς λῑτότητος tês lītótētos	τοῖν λῑτοτήτοιν toîn lītotḗtoin	τῶν λῑτοτήτων tôn lītotḗtōn
Dative	τῇ λῑτότητῐ têi lītótēti	τοῖν λῑτοτήτοιν toîn lītotḗtoin	ταῖς λῑτότησῐ / λῑτότησῐν taîs lītótēsi(n)
Accusative	τὴν λῑτότητᾰ tḕn lītótēta	τὼ λῑτότητε tṑ lītótēte	τᾱ̀ς λῑτότητᾰς tā̀s lītótētas
Vocative	λῑτότης lītótēs	λῑτότητε lītótēte	λῑτότητες lītótētes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ts.

Descendants

• ⇒ Greek: λιτότητα (litótita)
• → Late Latin: lītotēs
  • → English: litotes (learned)
  • → French: litote (learned)
    • → Russian: лито́та (litóta)
    • → Spanish: litote
  • → German: Litotes (learned)
  • → Italian: litote (learned)
  • → Polish: litotes (learned)

Further reading

• “λιτότης”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “λιτότης”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• λιτότης in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette