The quality or state of being batty; a tendency toward craziness, eccentricity, or madness.
Derived from 'batty' (meaning crazy, from the phrase 'bats in the belfry'), plus the suffix '-ness' to form an abstract noun. The 'batty' slang likely comes from the erratic flight patterns of bats.
The phrase 'bats in the belfry' originated as a humorous way to describe someone whose mind wasn't quite right—the belfry being the bell tower where bats might roost, symbolizing the head!
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