Hotnesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being high in temperature, often perceived as warmth or heat
2. Various levels of thermal intensity that may be experienced or measured in different substances
3. A range of temperature characteristics that can be sensed or classified, reflecting degrees of warmth

Etymology: "Hotnesses" is simply the plural of "hotness," so the plural is the form to explain, and its origin is the more interesting part. "Hotness" comes from Middle English "hotnes," which descends from Old English "hātnes," meaning "hotness" or "heat." The Old English word was built from "hāt," the ancestor of today's "hot," and the suffix "-nes," which turned an adjective into a noun for a quality, much as "-ness" still does in "kindness" or "darkness." The plural "hotnesses" follows the same logic: it counts separate instances or degrees of that quality, so it is used for different heats rather than heat in general. The base word "hot" has held its meaning steadily from Old English onward, so the change here is mainly one of grammar rather than sense.

Synonyms: heat, warmth, temperature, spiciness, passion

Antonyms: coldnesses, coolnesses, chill