Leannesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of having little excess fat or thinness in body composition ; the characteristic of being spare or lacking richness in form or detail ; a trait of simplicity and absence of superfluous elements
2. A condition marked by minimal body fat or slenderness ; an attribute denoting austerity or lack of abundance in substance or decoration ; a measure of frugality or plainness in appearance or content
3. The state of exhibiting svelteness or minimal thickness, especially in physical form ; a feature indicating economy or restraint in material or matter ; the degree of bareness or reduced complexity in structure or style

Etymology: "Leannesses" is the plural of "leanness," so it refers to several instances or kinds of being lean. "Leanness" is formed from the adjective "lean," which in Old English was "hlǣne," meaning thin or lacking surplus flesh, plus the suffix "-ness," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality. Its Old English form, "hlǣnnes," shows the same pattern, and the noun has described slenderness of the body since then. The extended senses, such as austerity in decoration or plainness in content, grew from that core idea of nothing superfluous.

Synonyms: thinness, skinniness, slenderness

Antonyms: fatness, plumpness, obesity