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

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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

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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

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