Citizenshiplessness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The status of being without legal recognition or rights in a political community
2. The condition of being devoid of recognized legal status and rights within any political entity
3. The condition of not possessing legal nationality or rights granted by a state or nation

Etymology: "Citizenshipless" is the base here: "citizenship" with the suffix "-less," meaning "without," so it means having no citizenship. Adding "-ness," the English suffix that turns adjectives into nouns of state or quality (as in "happiness" or "darkness"), produces "citizenshiplessness," the condition of being without citizenship. The word is a plain English formation built from existing parts rather than a coinage with a famous author or a dramatic shift in meaning. Its literal sense has stayed fixed, so the most useful thing to know is how it works: each suffix is productive, meaning English speakers can attach them to almost any base, which is why a word this long can be formed on the spot. It is most often used in discussions of statelessness, where people are denied legal recognition or rights by the political community they live in.