offhandedness en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˌɑfˈhændədnəs/ (US)
Etymology
Etymology tree English offhanded 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 offhandedness From offhanded + -ness.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The property of being offhand.
Your offhandedness is completely inappropriate in such an important situation.
In one photograph, a teenaged Leah crouches by a tall cylindrical tank containing what she identified to me as a giant Pacific octopus named Pamela. We were pals, she said, in a voice that I thought seemed to strive for offhandedness, did you know they taste with their skin? Octopuses, I mean.
2022, Julia Armfield, Our Wives Under the Sea, Picador, page 67:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| off-handedness | alternative | lexicographic |
Translations (1)
pl bezceremonialność (Translations)