The quality or state of being breathy; the degree to which breath is audible in someone's voice or in a sound.
From 'breathy' (breath + -y adjective suffix) plus '-ness' (Old English nys, forming abstract nouns). Standardized in 20th-century voice science and music terminology.
Vocal scientists measure 'breathiness' as the ratio of unvoiced air to actual vocal cord vibration—excessive breathiness can indicate vocal damage, but controlled breathiness in singing creates intimacy and vulnerability!
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