Ăs'te-ĭsm, n.
n. [Fr. astéisme, Gr. ἀστεϊσμός, refined and witty talk, from ἀστείος, of the town, polite, witty, from ἄστυ, city.] (Rhet.) Genteel irony; a polite and ingenious manner of deriding another.
n. [Fr. astéisme, Gr. ἀστεϊσμός, refined and witty talk, from ἀστείος, of the town, polite, witty, from ἄστυ, city.] (Rhet.) Genteel irony; a polite and ingenious manner of deriding another.