Lessenesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic term for the quality of being smaller in size, amount, or degree than something else
2. An obsolete noun meaning smallness or a reduced measure of something compared with another thing
3. A Middle English word for littleness, referring to the condition of being lesser or diminished in extent

Etymology: Built from the adjective "less" and the Middle English suffix "-nesse," this noun meant the state or quality of being less: smallness, inferiority, or a reduced amount. The suffix is the Middle English spelling of Old English "-nes," which turned adjectives into nouns for qualities, as in "goodness" or "darkness." Its relative "lessen," the verb meaning "to make or become less," comes from the Old English verb "lǣssian," also built on the same root. "Lessenesse" is now obsolete, and its everyday descendant is the plainer "lessness," which survives mainly in dictionaries and rare usage.