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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Asteism \As"te*ism\, n. [Gr. ? refined and witty talk, fr. ? of the town, polite, witty, fr. ? city: cf. F. ast['e]isme.] (Rhet.) Genteel irony; a polite and ingenious manner of deriding another. [1913 Webster]