frivolousness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English frivolous 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 frivolousness From frivolous + -ness.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The quality of being frivolous.
I felt, as usual, my own smallness next to her, the scale of what she had achieved, the frivolousness of my own occupation in comparison, despite all she’d tried to direct me towards.
2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 150:
- (countable) The result of being frivolous.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| frivolousnesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |