Comparativeness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being measured against something else for understanding similarities or differences
2. a form of evaluating a subject within a comparative context
3. an attribute that emphasizes the relational aspect of one entity in relation to another

Etymology: "Comparativeness" is a plain piece of English word-building: the adjective "comparative" with the suffix "-ness" attached, which turns a quality into a noun. The adjective itself came through Old French "comparatif" from Latin "comparātīvus", built on "comparāre", "to match up or pair", which in turn came from "compār", "equal, a match", made of "con-" ("together") and "pār" ("equal"). So the core idea is simply two things set side by side as equals. The suffix "-ness" is native English and very old, descending from Old English "-nes", which was used to form abstract nouns from adjectives, as in "goodness" or "darkness". Attaching it to "comparative" gives the noun for the state of being comparative, that is, the quality of being judged against something else. The word is a transparent compound, so there is little more to tell beyond its parts.

Synonyms: relativity, comparability

Antonyms: absoluteness, uniqueness