Matteness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quality characterized by a surface that lacks shine or gloss and appears dull to the eye
2. The state of being non-reflective, where light does not bounce off the surface, creating a flat appearance
3. A texture or finish that absorbs light rather than reflecting it, resulting in a muted and understated look

Etymology: "Matteness" is a plain formation: the adjective "matte," borrowed from French, with the English suffix "-ness" added to turn a quality into a noun. "Matte" itself comes from French "mat," meaning dull or lacking polish, a word that also gave English "mate" in the sense of a checkmated king in chess, and it is the French term that carries the sense of a surface without gloss. Because "-ness" attaches freely to adjectives, "matteness" and its spelling variant "mattness" are simply the state of being matte, that is, the quality of a dull, non-reflective surface. The spelling "mattness" shows the double consonant that English often uses to keep a short vowel short, while "matteness" follows the pattern of "matte" plus the suffix with a silent final e.