Voluptuousnesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being characterized by luxury, pleasure, or sensual delight
2. A state of indulgence in physical or sensory enjoyment, often relating to beauty or attractiveness
3. The condition of being rich in pleasing shapes, forms, or sensations that evoke a strong appreciation of the senses

Etymology: Voluptuousness is "voluptuous" with the suffix "-ness" attached, and the plural simply counts separate instances or kinds of that quality. The suffix has an old pedigree: it descends from a Proto-Germanic formation that also gave English its ordinary "-ness" nouns, and the Old English form "-nes" was already used to turn adjectives into nouns of state or quality, as in "goodness" or "darkness." The adjective "voluptuous" was borrowed from Old French "voluptueux," which came from Latin "voluptuosus," itself built on "voluptas," meaning pleasure or delight. So the whole word traces back to a Latin notion of pleasure, carried into English through French, and the English suffix then turned the adjective into a noun for the state of being given to such pleasures.