looseness en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈluːsnəs/ (UK)
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Old Norse laussbor. Middle English loos English loose 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 looseness From loose + -ness.
Meanings
-
The quality or fact of being free from rigidity, attachment or restraint; not tight, not firmly attached or taut.
See if that nut has too much looseness and tighten it if it does.
- A relaxed state regarding principles or accuracy.
-
Moral laxity; licentiousness.
Yet goodly court he made still to his Dame, / Pourd out in loosnesse on the grassy grownd [...].
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| loosenesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (8)
fi löysyys (The property of being loose) · io laxeso (The property of being loose) · tr gevşeklik (The property of being loose) · hi शिथिलता (The property of being loose) · ga liobairne (The property of being loose) · fi löyhyys (The property of being loose) · ota گوشكلك (The property of being loose) · et kobedus (The property of being loose)