inertness

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English inert

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 inertness

From inert + -ness.

Pronunciation

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Noun

inertness (usually uncountable, plural inertnesses)

1. Lack of activity or exertion; habitual indisposition to action or motion

   Synonyms: sluggishness, apathy, insensibility

   • 1906, Jack London, “The Battle of the Fangs”, in White Fang, pages 49-63:

     No life stirred. They alone moved through the vast inertness. They alone were alive, and they sought for other things that were alive in order that they might devour them and continue to live.

2. Absence of the power of self-motion; inertia.
3. (chemistry) Quality of being unreactive with other chemical compounds or elements.

Derived terms

• bioinertness

Translations

sluggishness

• French: inertie (fr)
• German: Trägheit (de)
• Italian: apatia (it) f, indolenza (it) f
• Latin: torpēdō (la) f
• Polish: bezwładność (pl) f
• Spanish: inercia (es) f

inertia

• Italian: inerzia (it) f
• Polish: bezwładność (pl) f
• Spanish: inercia (es) f

chemically unreactive

• Italian: inerzia (it) f
• Polish: obojętność (pl) f, bierność (pl) f, inercja (pl) f, pasywność (pl) f
• Spanish: inercia química f

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “inertness”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “inertness”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• tennisers