auxesis

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek αὐξησις (auxēsis, “growth”), from αὐξάνειν (auxánein, “to grow”).

Noun

auxesis (countable and uncountable, plural auxeses)

1. (rhetoric) A rhetorical device whereby the subject matter is made greater, particularly
   1. (rhetoric) Overstatement, hyperbole.
      • 1577, Henry Peacham, Garden of Eloquence:

        Avxesis, when we vse a greater word for a lesse, or thus, when the word is greater then the thing is in deede.

   2. (rhetoric, obsolete) Arrangement of a series in ascending order.
2. (biology) Biological growth, (now usually restricted to) expansion or growth of an organism apart from that due to cellular division.
   • 1842, R. Dunglison, Medical Lexicon:

     Auxesis, augmentation, increase.

   • 1940 November 9, Nature, 618/1:

     Botanists do still distinguish between auxesis or growth by expansion, and merisis or growth by cell-multiplication.

3. (chemistry) The condition of being auxetic

Synonyms

• (rhetorical increase): amplification, amplificatio, (good) spin
• (overstatement): See hyperbole
• (ascending series): See climax

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "overstatement"): See understatement
• (antonym(s) of "ascending series"): See catacosmesis
• (antonym(s) of "biological"): merisis

Derived terms

• auxetic
• auxetically

See also

• pleonasm
• auxesis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia