Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Lightness |
LightnessNoun1. The property of being comparatively small in weight; "the lightness of balsa wood". 2. The gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble. 3. Having a light color. 4. The visual effect of illumination on objects or scenes as created in pictures; "he could paint the lightest light and the darkest dark". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "lightness" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Medicine | The attribute of visual sensation in accordance with which a body seems to transmit or reflect diffusely a greater or smaller fraction of the incident light. Source: European Union. (references) |
Physics | Perception by which white objects are distinguished from grey, and light objects from dark ones. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: LightnessSynonyms: agility (n), legerity (n), light (n), lightsomeness (n), nimbleness (n), weightlessness (n). (additional references) |
| Antonyms: darkness (n), heaviness (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Levity | Noun: levity; lightness. Adjective: imponderability, buoyancy, volatility. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Lightness |
| English words defined with "lightness": achromatic, aerial, aeriform, aery, agilely, airiness, airy ♦ black, blackness, brownish yellow ♦ cloudlessness, color, colour ♦ delicacy ♦ ethereal ♦ featherlike, feathery, Flittiness, Flitting ♦ gossamer, gray, grayish, grey, greyish ♦ heavy, heavy-footed, highlight, highlighting ♦ leaden, levity ♦ nimbly ♦ sobersided, sunniness ♦ value ♦ weightlessness, white, whiteness. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "lightness": Kite-flying. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "lightness": lights. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Figure 13. Richard narrow-ended net. Left: simple model. Right: model with deflector. Invented in 1903 by Doctor Jules Richard, this net combined extreme lightness with ease of making as well as a great facility for use by a ship underway. The prototype of this net was constructed on the PRINCESSE-ALICE II. Prince Albert I used this for thousands of plankton sampling tows from 1903 on.Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Production. Parachute cloth and shrouds. Weaving parachute cloth in an Eastern silk plant. The carefully selected and treated silk and nylon that go into this cloth provide great strength and lightness.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Tangled Tale | Carroll, Lewis | You will take account of the rate of work, the lightness of the scarves, and their warmth. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | In this lightness of heart which possessed him, he was the most venerable of children. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | At the beginning of 2000, the market introduced the use of titanium for lightness and rubber wheels for added mobility. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Lightness" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Lightness" is used about 186 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 186 | 22,556 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "lightness": feather-lightness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
unbearable lightness of being | 57 |
being incredible lightness | 4 |
lightness | 4 |
unbearable lightness | 3 |
the unbearable lightness of being picture | 2 |
the unbearable lightness of being movie | 2 |
being kundera lightness milan unbearable | 2 |
approaching lightness.com | 2 |
being lightness quote unbearable | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "lightness"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | lehtësi (airiness, boon, convenience, ease, easiness, ethereality, facility, Favor, favour), shkujdesje (carelessness, disregard, ease, improvidence, inadvertence, inadvertency, insouciance, laxity, negligence, thoughtlessness, unconcern, untidiness), peshë e lehtë (lightweight, welterweight), ngjyrë e çelët, ndriçim (glow, illumination, irradiation, lighting, radiance, radiancy, refulgence, shed, shine, treatment), mendjelehtësi (airiness, frivolity, giddiness, levity), butësi (clemency, delicacy, ductility, flabbiness, geniality, gentleness, girlishness, languor, laxity, lenience, leniency, lenity, meekness, mercifulness, mildness, placability, tenderness, velvet). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | طيش (foolishness, frivolity, impetuosity, imprudence, indiscretion, inexpediency, levity, libertinism, light-heartedness, prank, puerility, rashness, recklessness, temerity, thoughtlessness, unwisdom), خفة (adroitness, alacrity, dexterity, flightiness, knack, levity, sleight of hand, temerity), إضاءة (floodlight, illumination, light, lightening, lighting), إشراق (brightness, brilliance, brilliancy, clearness, high rise, lucidity, luminosity, splendor, splendour, sunshine), رشاقة (agility, alacrity, deftness, fluency, fluidity, gracefulness, graciousness, liveliness, nimbleness, quickness, readiness, sleight of hand, swiftness, thinness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | леснота (facility, simplicity), лекота (ease, easiness, facility, fluidity, gentleness, levity, readiness), лекомислие (frivolity, giddiness, levity, superficiality), безгрижие (easiness, insouciance, mercuriality, nonchalance), пъргавост (agility, promptitude, resilience, resiliency, smartness, spring, springiness, volatility), пивкост (mellowness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 轻微 (lightly, slight). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | lehkost (ease, facility, thinness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | lyshed (blue reflectance factor, brightness, luminance), relativ klarhed. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | lichtheid (light-strength(tobacco)), helderheid (cleanliness, purity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | vaaleus (fairness, light colour, paleness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | clarté (limpidness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | leichtigkeit (ease, easiness, facileness, facility, flimsiness, mildness, weightlessness), helligkeit (brightness, brilliance, fairness, luminosity, paleness, vividness, whiteness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | φωτεινότητα (brightness, luminosity, luminousness), ελαφρότητα (airiness, flimsiness, flippancy, frivolity, levity, resilience, slightness, volatileness, weakmindedness), λαμπρότητα (brilliance, eclat, lucence, lucency, lustrousness, pomp, resplendence, resplendency, sheen, splendidness, splendor, splendour). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | קלילות (quickness), קלות (ease, easiness, facility, simplicity, slightly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | könnyûség (easiness, levity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | luminosità (brightness, luminosity), levità, leggerezza (fickleness, imprudence, levity, nimbleness, thinness), illuminazione (flash of inspiration, flood light, floodlight, illumination, lighting), chiarezza (brightness, clarity, clearness, obviousness, perspicuity, plainness, vividness), agilità (agility, ease, fleetness, nimbleness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 가벼움. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | sollyssid (brightness, brilliance, clearness, gloss, illustration, luminosity, lustre, polish, radiance, resplendence, sheen, transparency), soilshaght (lucidity, luminescence, manifestation, perspicuity), eddrymys (levity), eddrymid (flightiness, giddiness, levity, shallowness, slightness), baneid (blankness, paleness, whiteness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ightnesslay luminosidade (luminous, sheen), claridade (blink, bright, brightness, clarity, day, gleam, light, limpidity, shine, sunshine, transparency). (various references) luminã (culture, glare, glim, glow, illumination, light, lighting, lucidity, luminous energy, opening, perspective, side light, span, twinkle). (various references) легкомыслие (flippancy, frivolity, giddiness, levity, light-mindedness), проворство (agility, deftness, dexterity, legerity), деликатность (delicacy, light hand). (various references) lakoća (easiness, facility, legerity, levitation, levity), svetlina, površnost (superficiality). (various references) levedad (levity, light fixture, lightning, mildness), claridad (articulateness, brightness, clarity, clearness, concrete, crystal, definition, explicitness, fineness, lightship, limpidness, lucidity, perspicuity, plainness). (various references) lätthet (ease, easiness, facility, fragility, mildness, simplicity). (various references) การไม่มีภาระหนัก, การมีน้ำหนักเบา, การมีสีอ่อน, ความไม่เอาจริงเอาจัง, ความสว่าง (light, luminosity), ความว่องไว (nimbleness), ความร่าเริง (frolic, jocundity). (various references) neşelilik (bonhomie, cheerfulness, cheeriness, jocularity, jocundity, jolliness, jollity, joviality, joyfulness, perkiness), keyiflilik, hafiflik (airiness, frailness, giddiness, looseness, slightness, slowness, thinness), atiklik (agility, alertness, readiness), açıklık (aperture, baldness, berth, clarity, clearance, clearness, definiteness, demonstrativeness, directness, distance, distinction, distinctiveness, distinctness, erectness, evidence, fairness, gap, interstice, lucidity, lucidness, manifestness, obviousness, openness, palpability, patency, perspicuity, plainness, preciseness, publicity, rift, roundness, space, spread, straightforwardness, the open, vacancy, yard), önemsizlik (indifference, insignificance, insignificancy, littleness, paltriness, puniness, slightness, smallness, triviality, unimportance), çabukluk (celerity, expedition, fastness, haste, nimbleness, promptitude, promptness, quickness, readiness, speed, speediness, swiftness). (various references) швидкість (agility, celerity, dispatch, fastness, gait, legerity, promptitude, quickness, rapidity, speed, swiftness, tempo, velocity), легкість (airiness, easiness, facility, legerity), легковажність (airiness, carelessness, frivolity, giddiness, hoity toity, levity, puerility), делікатність (canniness, scrupulosity). (various references) tính nhẹ dạ (credulity, credulousness, frivolity, frivolness, levity), tính nhẹ tính nhanh nhẹn tính nhẹ nhàng tính vui vẻ tính khinh suất. (various references) ysgafnder (levity). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | levitas, levitate. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Jeremiah Chapter 3, Verse 9 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai egeneto eiV ouqen h porneia authV kai emoiceusen to xulon kai ton liqon |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et facilitate fornicationis suae contaminavit terram et moechata est cum lapide et cum ligno |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And thury liythed of hir fornycacioun defoulede the lond, and dide fornycacioun with ston, and with tree. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And it came to pass through the lightness of her lewdness, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | So that through all her loose behaviour the land became unclean, and she was untrue, giving herself to stones and trees. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Jeremiah Chapter 3, Verse 9 |
| Cebuano | Ug nahitabo tungod sa pagkagaan sa iyang pagpakighilawas, nga ang yuta nahugawan, ug siya nanapaw sa mga bato ug uban sa mga tuod sa kahoy. |
| Croatian | I svojim lakoumnim bludom obešèasti zemlju; èinila je preljub s kamenjem i drvljem. |
| Danish | Ved sin letsindige Bolen vanærede hun Landet og horede med Sten og Træ. |
| Dutch | Ja, het geschiedde, vanwege het gerucht harer hoererij, dat zij het land ontheiligde; want zij bedreef overspel met steen en met hout. |
| Finnish | Ja haureutensa huudolla hän saastutti maan, ja hän teki aviorikoksen kiven ja puun kanssa. |
| French | Par sa criante impudicité Israël a souillé le pays, elle a commis un adultère avec la pierre et le bois. |
| German | Und von dem Geschrei ihrer Hurerei ist das Land verunreinigt; denn sie treibt Ehebruch mit Stein und Holz. |
| Hungarian | És lõn, hogy az õ paráznaságának hírével megfertõztette a földet; mert kõvel és fával paráználkodott. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | dan sama sekali tidak merasa malu. Ia berzinah karena menyembah batu dan pohon, sehingga negeri ini menjadi najis. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Maka sudah jadi oleh gampangan zinahnya, dinajiskannya negeri, karena ia telah berbuat zinah dengan batu dan kayupun. |
| Italian | e con il clamore delle sue prostituzioni ha contaminato il paese; ha commesso adulterio davanti alla pietra e al legno. |
| Maori | Na, ko te otinga, kua poke te whenua i te rongo o tona puremutanga, puremu ana ia ki te kohatu, ki te rakau. |
| Norwegian | og med sitt frekke hor vanhelliget hun landet, og hun drev hor med sten og med tre. |
| Portuguese | E pela leviandade da sua prostituição contaminou a terra, porque adulterou com a pedra e com o pau. |
| Rumanian | Wi astfel, prin necurqyia ei strigqtoare, Israel a spurcat yara, a preacurvit cu piatra wi lemnul. |
| Swedish | och ohelgade så landet genom sin lättfärdiga otukt, i det hon begick äktenskapsbrott med sten och trä. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "lightness": lightnesses. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "lightness": slightness. (additional references) | |
Words containing "lightness": slightnesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Lightness" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: alrightness, lightnesses. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "lightness" (pronounced lī"tnus) |
| 6 | l ī" t n u s | politeness. |
| 5 | -ī" t n u s | brightness, forthrightness, rightness, tightness, whiteness. |
| 4 | -t n u s | abruptness, absoluteness, acuteness, alertness, appropriateness, astuteness, bluntness, compactness, completeness, correctness, cuteness, directness, earnestness, eyewitness, faintness, fastness, fitness, flatness, gauntness, greatness, ineptness, inertness, lateness, lightfastness, neatness, quietness, remoteness, robustness, separateness, shortness, softness, steadfastness, stoutness, sweetness, swiftness, tartness, unpleasantness, vastness, wetness, witness. |
| 3 | -n u s | aggressiveness, agribusiness, airworthiness, aloofness, alumnus, Anas, androgynous, anise, arbitrariness, assertiveness, asynchronous, attentiveness, attractiveness, awareness, awfulness, awkwardness, backwardness, badness, bagginess, baldness, bearishness, bigness, bitterness, bituminous, blackness, blandness, bleakness, blindness, boldness, bonus, boorishness, brashness, bullishness, business, callousness, calmness, carelessness, casualness, cautiousness, cavernous, cheapness, chitinous, cleanliness, cleanness, cleverness, closeness, cloudiness, clumsiness, cockiness, cohesiveness, coldness, Colonus, combativeness, competitiveness, consciousness, contagiousness, contentiousness, contrariness, Conus, coolness, coziness, craziness, creativeness, creditworthiness, creepiness, crispness, crookedness, dampness, darkness, Deaconess, deadliness, deafness, decisiveness, defensiveness, destructiveness, disingenuousness, distinctiveness, divisiveness, dizziness, dreariness, drowsiness, drunkenness, dryness, dullness, eagerness, edginess, effectiveness, elusiveness, emptiness, evenness, exogenous, fairness, farsightedness, fickleness, firmness, fondness, foolishness, forcefulness, forgiveness, foulness, fractiousness, frankness, freshness, friendliness, frothiness, fullness, funniness, furnace, gayness, gelatinous, gentleness, genuineness, genus, ghastliness, gluttonous, goodness, governess, graciousness, greenness, grimness, hairiness, handedness, happiness, hardness, harmfulness, harness, harshness, heinous, helplessness, highness, hoarseness, holiness, homelessness, homesickness, homogenous, hopefulness, hopelessness, humanness, idleness, illness, inclusiveness, indebtedness, indecisiveness, indigenous, ineffectiveness, intravenous, intrusiveness, inventiveness, joblessness, Johannes, kindness, larcenous, largeness, lawlessness, laziness, lenis, likeness, liveliness, loneliness, lousiness, luminous, madness, Manus, meanness, membranous, menace, Minas, mindedness, minus, monotonous, mountainous, mutinous, narrowness, nastiness, nearsightedness, nervousness, newness, niceness, niggardliness, nitrogenous, nonbusiness, nonpoisonous, nosiness, nothingness, numbness, ominous, oneness, onus, openness, orderliness, otherness, outrageousness, outspokenness, pandanus, peacefulness, penis, permissiveness, persuasiveness, pervasiveness, pettiness, playfulness, poisonous, polygynous, pompousness, possessiveness, powerlessness, preparedness, queasiness, quickness, raciness, randomness, rareness, ravenous, rawness, readiness, reasonableness, rebelliousness, recklessness, redness, resistiveness, resourcefulness, responsiveness, restiveness, restlessness, restrictiveness, richness, righteousness, riskiness, roominess, roughness, rowdiness, rudeness, ruinous, ruthlessness, sacredness, sadness, Salinas, sameness, scantiness, secretiveness, selfishness, selflessness, sensitiveness, seriousness, shakiness, shallowness, sharpness, shortsightedness, shrewdness, shyness, sickness, silliness, sinus, skittishness, slackness, sleepiness, sloppiness, slovenliness, slowness, sluggishness, slyness, smallness, smoothness, smugness, solitariness, soundness, spiritedness, squeamishness, starkness, steadiness, steepness, sternness, stiffness, stillness, stinginess, strangeness, stubbornness, sturdiness, suddenness, suggestiveness, tardiness, tastiness, tenderness, tetanus, thickness, thinness, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, timeliness, tiredness, togetherness, toughness, trustworthiness, truthfulness, ugliness, unconsciousness, uneasiness, unfairness, unhappiness, uniqueness, unwieldiness, unwillingness, usefulness, vagueness, venous, viciousness, villainous, vindictiveness, vividness, voluminous, wariness, wastefulness, waterishness, weakness, weariness, weightlessness, weirdness, wellness, wholeness, wholesomeness, wickedness, wilderness, wildness, willingness, wimpiness, wistfulness, wonderfulness, worldliness, worthiness, wryness. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: nightless. | |
| Words within the letters "e-g-h-i-l-n-s-s-t" | |
-1 letter: glistens, lightens, shingles, singlets, sleights. | |
-2 letters: english, enlists, glisten, hitless, ingests, legists, lengths, lighten, listens, nighest, shingle, signets, silents, singles, singlet, sithens, sleighs, sleight, slights, tingles, tinsels. | |
-3 letters: eights, elints, enlist, gentil, glints, gneiss, heists, hinges, ingest, ingles, inlets, insets, islets, istles, legist, legits, length, lights, listen, neighs, nights, shiels, shiest, shines, sights. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-g-h-i-l-n-s-s-t" | |
+1 letter: slightness. | |
+2 letters: flightiness, ghastliness, ghostliness, lengthiness, lightnesses, sightliness. | |
+3 letters: almightiness, establishing, ethnologists, knightliness, rightfulness, slightnesses, unsightliest. | |
+4 letters: delightedness, flightinesses, frightfulness, ghastlinesses, ghostlinesses, languishments, lengthinesses, lightfastness, lightsomeness, nephrologists, phrenologists, sightlessness, sightlinesses, sprightliness, technologists, unsightliness. | |
+5 letters: almightinesses, anesthesiology, delightfulness, flugelhornists, knightlinesses, lichenologists, reestablishing, rightfulnesses, silversmithing, sprightfulness, steeplechasing, weightlessness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4C 69 67 68 74 6E 65 73 73 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).-.. .. --. .... - -. . ... ... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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| Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "lightness" |
