The quality or state of lacking a backbone, either literally or figuratively; weakness of character or lack of courage.
From 'backboneless' (lacking backbone) + '-ness' (suffix forming abstract nouns). 'Backbone' comes from Old English, combining 'back' and 'bone,' originally referring to the spine but metaphorically meaning moral courage since the 1500s.
This word reveals how our bodies become metaphors for character—we've been calling cowardly people 'spineless' for centuries because we literally associate the spine with supporting our entire body, so lacking one seems to symbolize weakness in every way.
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