Draftiness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state in which a room or area experiences uncontrolled airflow, contributing to an uncomfortable chill due to temperature variation
2. The condition of having air currents that cause a chill or discomfort indoors
3. A state where unwanted movement of air creates a cool feeling in a space

Etymology: "Draftiness" is a plain formation: the adjective "drafty" with the suffix "-ness" added to turn a quality into a noun. "Drafty" itself is a variant of "draught," the older spelling of the word for a current of air moving through a room, which was in use in English long before the "-ness" ending was attached to it. The suffix is the more interesting part of the story. The ending traces back through Old English "-nes" and Proto-Germanic roots to a very old element meaning something like a state or condition, and it has been a productive way of making abstract nouns from adjectives ever since. Coining "draftiness" required no special invention; it simply applies that long-standing pattern to a common descriptive word.

Synonyms: draft, chill

Antonyms: warmth, stillness