Animalness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being characterized by instinctive, physical, or primal traits typically associated with non-human creatures
2. The essence of existence defined by primal characteristics linked to non-human beings and their instinctual behaviors
3. A state that embodies the raw and instinctive traits often associated with creatures in the animal kingdom

Etymology: "Animalness" is a plain formation: the adjective "animal" with the suffix "-ness," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. "Animal" itself comes from the Latin "animal," meaning a living being, derived from "anima," breath or soul, so the word's roots point to the idea of breathing life rather than to beasts specifically. The "-ness" ending is an old English suffix that has been attached freely to adjectives for centuries, which is why new coinages like this one appear so easily. In this sense, the noun names the quality of being animal in the sense of untamed, instinctive behaviour, the part of a person or creature that acts on appetite and impulse rather than reason or restraint. The Oxford English Dictionary records it as an entry, which confirms that it is an established formation rather than a casual nonce coinage.

Synonyms: animality, beastliness

Antonyms: humanity, humanness