Why does "less than" mean "not" in "A little more than kin, and less than kind"? In Act 1, Scene 2, Line 65, _Hamlet_ > _[Aside]_ "A little more than kin, and **less than** kind" does **less than** mean **not**? If so, what semantic notions underlie **less than** and **not**? How did **less than** semantically shift to mean **not**? I completely understand why Hamlet must use litotes if he's chiding Claudius in front of a human being, let alone if he's saying this to Claudius's face. But why would Hamlet use litotes when he's speaking _aside_ = "speaking so no one else can hear"? Why wouldn't Hamlet just speak **to himself** plainly and directly, by simply saying "not kind" or "unkind"? I know this is double entendre. Shakespeare was punning bilingually with English and German that first, Hamlet is not Claudius's biological son. And Hamlet scorns Claudius too much to want to be familial or familiar (pun intended) with Claudius. Second, Claudius is unkind.

Meiosis)

It's a figure of speech, a form of understatement. Hamlet is describing a total lack as if it were a mere diminishment.

This also lets him frame it as an antithesis.