penuriousness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English penurious 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 penuriousness From penurious + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable) The quality of being penurious.
Giving that up, she took a broom and a duster and went upstairs to housemaid Mrs Dibble's bedroom, with her head tied up in a coloured scarf. It was a dusty, snuffy job, for penuriousness in Mrs Dibble refused to throw anything away, including dirt, and if anything fell on the floor it remained there.
1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 32:In Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the character Ebenezer Scrooge is renowned for his penuriousness.
Covetouſneſs is the root of penuriouſneſs and baſeneſs, it hinders hoſpitality;
1671, Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes, page 271:
Synonyms
cheapness (quality of being penurious) · frugality (quality of being penurious) · miserliness (quality of being penurious) · thriftiness (quality of being penurious)