extenuatio
From LSJ
λύχνον μεθ' ἡμέραν ἅψας περιῄει λέγων ἄνθρωπον ζητῶ → he lit a lamp in broad daylight and said, as he went about, I am looking for a man
Latin > English (Lewis & Short)
extĕnŭātĭo: ōnis, f. extenuo,
I a thinning, rarefaction.
I Lit.: vitium, Plin. 17, 26, 39, § 246; Sen. Q. N. 2, 57, 3.—
II Trop., a lessening, diminution, extenuation, as a figure of speech, the Gr. μείωσις or ἐλάττωσις, Cic. de Or. 3, 53, 202; Quint. 9, 1, 28; 9, 2, 3.
