the state of having no weight or no apparent weight, like astronauts floating in space.
From weight (Old English wiht, something heavy) plus -lessness (lacking or without). The scientific concept emerged in the space age as people understood gravity and orbiting.
Astronauts aren't actually 'weightless'—Earth's gravity still pulls them—they're in constant free fall around the planet, which is why they float, and it took centuries for physics to explain why falling doesn't feel the way you'd expect.
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