shortness
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English schortnesse, from Old English sċortnes, sċeortnys, equivalent to short + -ness.
Noun
[edit]shortness (countable and uncountable, plural shortnesses)
- (uncountable) The property of being short, of being small of stature or brief.
- the shortness of a stubby pencil
- the patient's shortness of breath
- 1956 October, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 688:
- From time to time in both directions the engine was blowing off, so there was no shortness of steam.
- 1959 March, “Talking of Trains: Fewer meals on wheels?”, in Trains Illustrated, page 121:
- But on the whole the Southern Region, in view of the relative shortness of so many of its journeys, is to be commended for its provision of refreshment facilities; [...].
- 2024 November 24, Chris Boyette, “Investigators release update on BioLab chemical plant fire probe”, in CNN[1], archived from the original on 30 August 2025:
- CNN spoke recently with several Conyers residents who said they still have blurry vision, shortness of breath, throat irritation or chronic headaches since the chemical plant fire.
- (countable) The result or product of being short.
- (uncountable) The property of being short or terse.
- I was chastened by the shortness of her reply.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]The property of being short, of being small of stature or brief
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Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms suffixed with -ness
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations