elusiveness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English elusive Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English elusiveness From elusive + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) The state of being elusive.
Slowly she turned round and faced towards a neat white bungalow, set some way back from the path behind a low hedge of golden privet. No light showed, but someone there was playing the piano. The strange elusiveness of the soft, insistent melody seemed to draw her forward.
1954, Alexander Alderson, chapter 1, in The Subtle Minotaur:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| elusivenesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |