lightness
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- lightnesse (obsolete)
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse,[1] from Old English līhtnes, lȳhtnys (“enlightening, illumination”), from Proto-West Germanic *liuhtinassī; equivalent to light (“to make bright, illuminate”, verb) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Old High German liuhtnissi (“illumination, enlightening”).
Noun[edit]
lightness (countable and uncountable, plural lightnesses)
- (uncountable) the condition of being illuminated
- (uncountable) the relative whiteness or transparency of a colour
- (countable) The product of being illuminated.
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse,[2] from Old English *lēohtnes (“lightness”) (compare Old English lēohtmōdnes (“lightness”, literally “light-moodedness”), līhtingnes (“lightness, alleviation”)); equivalent to light (“not heavy”, adjective) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Middle Low German luchtnisse, lüchtnisse (“lightness, frivolity, joyfulness”).
Noun[edit]
lightness (uncountable)
- The state of having little (or less) weight, or little force.
- 1960 January, “The Swindon Type "4" diesel-hydraulic units”, in Trains Illustrated, page 39:
- The unique chassis design is largely the secret of the lightness of the locomotive.
- Agility of movement.
- Freedom from worry.
- 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:
- In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
- Levity, frivolity; inconsistency.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:, New York 2001, p.75:
- Seneca […] accounts it a filthy lightness in men, every day to lay new foundations of their life, but who doth otherwise?
Translations[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ “lightnes(se, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018, retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ “lightnes(se, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018, retrieved 8 November 2019.
Anagrams[edit]
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms suffixed with -ness
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations