Secondary Ways of Semantic Changes

There are the following secondary ways of semantic changes:

1. Elevation. It is a transfer of the meaning when it becomes better in the course of time: knight originally meant a boy, then a young servant, then a military servant, then a noble man. Now it is a title of nobility given to outstanding people: «marshal» originally meant «a horse man» now it is the highest military rank etc.

2. Degradation. It is a transfer of the meaning when it becomes worse in the course of time. It is usually connected with nouns denoting common people, e.g. villain originally meant working on a villa, now it means a scoundrel.

3. Hyperbole. It is a transfer of the meaning when the speaker uses exaggeration, e.g. to hate (doing something), not to see somebody for ages. Hyperbole is often used to form phraseological units, e.g. to split hairs; «to make a mountain out of a molehill», etc.

4. Litotes. It is a transfer of the meaning when the speaker expresses the affirmative with the negative or vice versa, e.g. not bad (it is good), no coward, not half as important.

Litotes is defined as 'an ironical understatement in which affirmative is expressed by the negation of the opposite'. In this figure of speech, the usages are intentional, ironical and provide emphasis to the words. This is mainly done through double negatives. To put it in simple terms, in litotes, instead of saying that something is attractive, you say that it is not unattractive.

Litotes: As a means of saying:

"Not bad." "Good."

"[...] no ordinary city." Acts 21:39 (NIV) - "[...] a very impressive city."

"That [sword] was not useless / to the warrior now." (Beowulf lines 1575–1576)- "The warrior has a use for the sword now."

"He was not unfamiliar with the works of Dickens." - "He was acquainted with the works of Dickens."

"She is not as young as she was." - "She's old."

"He's no oil painting." - "He's ugly."

"Not Unwelcome" (as on a doormat) - "Welcome"

"Not unlike..." - "Like..."

Regularly Used Examples Of litotes Following are some of the commonly used litotes: They aren't the happiest couple around. He's not the ugliest fellow around! She's not the brightest girl in the class. The food is not bad. It is no ordinary city. That sword was not useless to the warrior now. He was not unfamiliar with the works of Dickens. She is not as young as she was. You are not wrong. Einstein is not a bad mathematician. Heat waves are not rare in the summer. It won't be easy to find crocodiles in the dark. He is not unlike his dad. That's no small accomplishment. He is not the kindest person I've met. That is no ordinary boy. He is not unaware of what you said behind his back. This is no minor matter. The weather is not unpleasant at all. She's no doll. That was no small issue. The city is not unclean. Running a marathon in under two hours is no small accomplishment. She's no idiot. That's not a meager sum. You're not doing badly. That's no mean feat. She's not a bad writer at all.