epitrope means A figure by which permission is either seriously or ironically granted to someone to do what he or she proposes to do, e.g. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “epitrope” is a great word
EPITROPE — [Noun] A rhetorical figure in which the speaker, with either grave sincerity or lethal irony, formally grants permission or yields a point. Its etymology traces from Latin *epitrope*, from Ancient Greek ἐπιτροπή (*epitropḗ*, "reference, arbitration"), from ἐπιτρέπω (*epitrépō*, "to turn over, to entrust, to permit"). Unlike a general concession, a broad strategic retreat in debate, or a tactical paromologia, a calculated admission to fortify a larger claim, epitrope is a staged surrender—a theatrical gesture of allowance that dares the adversary to proceed. It is the weary parent’s chilling “Go ahead, ruin your life”; the general’s invitation to the traitor to “deliver your report”; the bitter lover’s silent gesture toward the door. In each lies a devastating release of control—permission given as a verdict, the formal turning of a key to reveal a door forever locked.
noun
- A figure by which permission is either seriously or ironically granted to someone to do what he or she proposes to do, e.g. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.