meanness

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English mean

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 meanness

From mean + -ness.

Noun

meanness (countable and uncountable, plural meannesses)

1. (uncountable) The condition, or quality, of being mean (any of its definitions)
   • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Florence”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     This figure is of a later date, by the meanness of the workmanship.

2. (countable) A mean act.
   • 1908, The World's Work, volume 16, page 10497:

     There are enough meannesses in everyone — ourselves included — to make for us a contemptible world, if we select the meannesses and let our minds dwell upon them.

Synonyms

• meandom

Antonyms

• nobility
• nobleness

Translations

the condition or quality of being mean

• Bulgarian: низост (bg) f (nizost), подлост (bg) f (podlost)
• Dutch: gemeenheid (nl) f
• French: radinerie (fr) f, pingrerie (fr) f
• Greek: αχρειότητα (el) f (achreiótita)
• Irish: cneámhaireacht f, suarachas m
• Italian: grettezza (it) f, meschinità (it) f, taccagneria (it) f
• Japanese: 卑劣 (ja) (hiretsu), 下劣 (ja) (geretsu)
• Latvian: zemiskums m
• Polish: draństwo (pl) n, nikczemność (pl) f, podłość (pl) f
• Spanish: tacañería f
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: رذالت (rezâlet) (vileness)

a mean act

• Dutch: gemene daad f
• Esperanto: malnoblaĵo
• French: abjection (fr)
• German: Gemeinheit (de) f, Fiesheit f, gemeines Benehmen n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} mezquindad (es) f

References

• “meanness”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.