ness

WOTD – 18 August 2010    

See also nes, Nes, NES, Ness, and -ness

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Old English næs; cognate with Icelandic nes, Swedish näs, Danish næs. Related to nose.

Pronunciation

• enPR: nĕs, IPA: /nɛs/, X-SAMPA: /nEs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Noun

ness (plural nesses)

1. (geography) A promontory; a cape or headland. (frequently used as a suffix in placenames)
   • 1958: Eric Rücker Eddison, Zimiamvian Trilogy, volume 3: “The Mezentian Gate”, page 177 (Elek Bks.)

     Velvraz Sebarm stands upon the lake, among orange-trees and pomegranates and almonds and peaches of the south, a mile north-west over the water from Zayana town, and two miles by land: an old castle built of honey-coloured marble at the tip of a long sickle-shaped ness that sweeps round southwards, with wild gardens running down in the rocks to the water’s edge, and behind the castle a wood of holm-oaks making a wind-break against the north.

Translations

a promontory; a cape or headland

• Armenian: հրվանդան (hy) (hrvandan)
• Danish: næs (da) n
• Faroese: nes (fo) n
• Finnish: niemi (fi), nokka (fi)

• Icelandic: nes (is)
• Norwegian: nes (no) n
• Russian: мыс (ru) (mys) m

See also

• Nes
• Ness
• naze

References

• ness in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• The Collins English Dictionary, Collins, London & Glasgow 1986

Anagrams

• SNES