Foppishnesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Excessive concern with one’s appearance and fashion, often associated with arrogance or pretentiousness in behavior or mannerisms
2. A quality characterized by an ostentatious and vain approach to dress and grooming, often at the expense of substance
3. The state of being overly dandy or flamboyant in style, reflecting a lack of sincerity or depth in personal presentation

Etymology: "Foppishnesses" is the plural of "foppishness", which is simply "foppish" with the suffix "-ness" added. "Foppish" comes from "fop", a noun meaning a man excessively concerned with fashion and dress, to which the adjective-forming suffix "-ish" was attached, giving the sense of having the qualities of a fop. Adding "-ness" turns the adjective into an abstract noun for that quality. The "-ness" suffix has a long history in English, descending from Old English "-nes", which was used to form nouns of state or quality from adjectives. Its plural form, used here, is rare in ordinary speech because the quality itself is usually discussed as a single abstract idea, so the plural appears mainly when several instances or displays of the quality are being counted.