Colourlessness

/ˈkʌlərləsnəs/ noun

Definition

The quality or state of lacking color or being dull and uninteresting.

Etymology

From 'colourless' (adjective) + '-ness' (noun suffix). This demonstrates how English can stack suffixes: colour + -less + -ness creates a double-suffix noun.

Kelly Says

This word is a perfect example of English's 'stacking suffix' ability—we can keep adding morphemes (meaningful units) to create increasingly abstract concepts, something languages like Mandarin Chinese cannot do as easily, which is why English seems so flexible for creating new shades of meaning.

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