Vastity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterized by a great extent or size, often conveying the idea of enormity or immense scope
2. Referring to the state of being vast, indicating vast stretches of land or significant breadth in concepts
3. Describing something that is extensive, widespread, or of considerable proportions in various contexts

Etymology: "Vastity" is a plain formation: the adjective "vast" with the suffix "-ity," which turns adjectives into nouns of quality, as in "rapidity" or "density." The adjective itself came into English from Middle French "vaste," which took it from the Latin "vastus," meaning empty, desolate, or immense. The noun has an older and more unsettling history than its modern sense suggests. Its ancestor, Latin "vastitas," meant desolation or the state of being laid waste, the wreckage left after destruction rather than sheer size. English also had a related form, Middle English "wastite," showing that the idea of ruined, emptied land was present long before the word came to mean great extent.

Synonyms: vastness, immensity, expanse, largeness

Antonyms: smallness, narrowness, confineness