pensiveness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English pensive 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 pensiveness From pensive + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable) A thoughtful or reflective state, especially if sad or melancholic.
We left quietly so as not to disturb the widow's pensiveness.
Yet the employment seemed a pleasant one; her cheek was flushed with a clear, rich crimson—her face / "Was like any fair lake that the morning is on, / When it breaks into dimples, and laughs in the sun." / And if, ever and anon, the brow was clouded by a shade of pensiveness, it was quickly dispelled by the consciousness of present happiness.
1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 106:
Translations (3)
ota طالغینلق (thoughtful or reflective state) · it pensierosità (thoughtful or reflective state) · sh zàmišljenōst (thoughtful or reflective state)