The quality of being mischievous, playfully teasing, or slyly clever in a somewhat annoying or self-aware way.
From 'arch' (mischievously clever, roguish) + '-ness' (state or quality). 'Arch' comes from Latin 'arcus' meaning 'bow,' referencing something bent or curved—used figuratively for something bent or twisted with roguery.
There's something delightful about archness—it's that quality of being charmingly annoying, like a cat who knocks your pen off the table while looking you dead in the eye. The connection to 'arch' as something curved or bent captures how this quality twists situations!
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