niceness en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈnaɪsnɪs/
Etymology
Etymology tree English nice Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną 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 niceness From nice + -ness.
Meanings
- (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Silliness; folly.
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(countable, uncountable) Effeminacy; indulgence in soft living or luxuriousness.
He was a good Citizen, of an honest-gentle nature, as are commonly fat and burly men; for so was he: But to speake truely of him, full of ambitious vanitie and remisse nicenesse [translating mollesse].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 10, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
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(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Shyness; reserve.
Methinks a young create of niceness should be less ready to write to one man, when she is designed to be another's.
1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC:
- (countable, uncountable) Fastidiousness; fine sensitivity.
- (countable, uncountable) Pleasantness, especially of behaviour or personality; agreeableness.
- (Unix, countable, uncountable) A value determining how much processor time to concede to a running process. (See also nice (verb), renice.)
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| nicenesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |