Illogicalness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being unreasonable or lacking coherence | The state of exhibiting irrationality or nonsensical reasoning | The condition of presenting arguments that are not sound or lack logical consistency
2. The characteristic of exhibiting a lack of rationale or coherence
3. The state of representing thoughts or arguments that are unreasonable and inconsistent

Etymology: The noun in question is formed by layering several English morphological elements onto the base adjective "illogical." The root "logical" traces back to the Greek "logikos," meaning "pertaining to reasoning," which passed into Latin as "logicalis" and then into English by the late Middle Ages. The prefix "il-" is a variant of "in-" used before "l," serving to negate the meaning, so "illogical" literally means "not logical" or "lacking logic." Adding the suffix "-ness" transforms the adjective into a noun that denotes a state or quality. This suffix originated in Old English as "-nes(s)" and has been used since then to form abstract nouns from adjectives. Thus, the word denotes the quality or condition of being illogical. The additional "-ness" in "illogicalness" might seem redundant because "illogical" already carries a negative and abstract sense, and "illogicality" or simply "illogicalness" suffice to express the concept. The use of "-ness" here emphasizes the state or condition rather than the quality, which can be a subtle nuance in English word formation but is uncommon and often considered awkward or nonstandard. This layered construction is a clear example of English’s flexibility and productivity in forming nouns from adjectives, especially in more casual or creative contexts, where speakers might coin longer forms for emphasis or stylistic effect. The term itself likely emerged relatively recently, as English speakers play with morphological patterns to suit expressive needs, rather than from any formal coinage or classical origin.