fleetingness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English fleeting 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 fleetingness From fleeting + -ness.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) The quality of being fleeting.
But the perpetual mutability and fleetingness of those immediate objects of sight render them incapable of being managed after the manner of geometrical figures […]
1709, George Berkeley, An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision, §156:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fleetingnesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
transiency · briefness · ephemerality (transience)