Wordwyrt

softness

/ˈsɔːftnəs/SAWFT-nuhs
/ˈsɔftnəs/SAWFT-nuhs

Meaningthe state of being soft

Common meaning: gentleness

Other meanings: lack of hardness

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishsofte‘softly, gently’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishsoftesource
  3. Englishsoft‘not hard’
  4. Englishformed in English from softsoftness‘gentleness’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from soft + -ness.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), SOFT, p.571 · scan

Source words

  • softe Old English · source word “gentle, mild”

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