The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
MEIOSIS
litotes, meiosis
(noun) understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary); “saying ‘I was not a little upset’ when you mean ‘I was very upset’ is an example of litotes”
meiosis, miosis, reduction division
(noun) (genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms; the nucleus divides into four nuclei each containing half the chromosome number (leading to gametes in animals and spores in plants)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
meiosis (countable and uncountable, plural meioses)
(countable, rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is; understatement.
(uncountable, cytology) Cell division of a diploid cell into four haploid cells, which develop to produce gametes.
Synonyms
• (rhetoric): See understatement
• (cytology): reduction division
Antonyms
• (rhetoric): See hyperbole
• (cytology): mitosis
Meronyms
• (cytology): prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, reduction division, equation division
Source: Wiktionary
Mei*o"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Meionite.] (Rhet.)
Definition: Diminution; a species of hyperbole, representing a thing as being less than it really is.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
18 April 2025
GROIN
(noun) the crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals
Coffee Trivia
