Betweenness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state or condition of existing or occurring in an intermediate position between two points or things
2. Being situated in the middle or at an intermediate place separating two others
3. The characteristic of lying or happening in the space or interval between two objects or moments

Etymology: "Betweenness" is a plain compound: the preposition "between" with the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective or preposition-based word into an abstract noun for a quality or state. "Between" itself is an old native word, built from Old English roots meaning roughly "by two," and the "-ness" ending comes from Old English "-nes," which has been used to form abstract nouns since the earliest English. Put together, the word names the quality of being positioned between things or moments. The suffix is the more productive part of the story. English has long used "-ness" to make nouns from nearly any descriptive word, so "betweenness" follows the same pattern as "kindness" or "darkness," simply attached to a preposition rather than an adjective. Its meaning stays close to the physical sense of the preposition: the state of lying in the gap separating two things, or falling in the interval between two moments.

Synonyms: intermediacy, interposition