hardnessn.

Brit.

/ˈhɑːdnəs/, U.S.

/ˈhɑrdnəs/

Forms: see hard adj. and n. and -ness suffix; also early Middle English hearnysra (accusative plural, transmission error).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old High German hartnissa < the Germanic base of hard adj. + the Germanic base of -ness suffix.

The quality or condition of being hard (in various senses).

a. The quality or condition of being physically firm, unyielding, rigid, tough, etc. Also: an instance of this.In quot. OE¹: the hard part of something. In quot. OE² ðæs magan heardnes, lit. ‘hardness of the stomach’, apparently denotes constipation.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [noun]

hardnessOE

hardinessa1398

obdurityc1600

marblenessa1631

durity1646

unimpressibility1854

flintiness1871

secondary hardening1915

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) x. 86 Se halga wer ða sona het þa heardnesse swiðe holian onmiddan ðære flore his fægeran botles.

OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) clxvi. 210 Wiþ ðæs magan heardnysse genim þysse ylcan wyrte blostman.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 33 Hie liþegað alle ardnesse.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. ii. 693 Erþeshakynge is noȝt in grauely place but in place with..hardenesse withoute as a place of hilles and of mountayns.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 195 Hardnes of clothyng on bak & in bed.

1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. sig. H.ij^v/1 Gyue hym to ete moyst flesshe and motton, for the moystnes of the flesshe maketh y^e hardnes of the braynepan.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 160^v Powre in playster, or some liquid thing, that may come to a hardnesse in the shell.

1610 E. Gardiner Triall of Tabacco f. 12^v Wandring swellings,and hardnesses of the spleene.

1656 tr. Marnettè Perfect Cook xviii. 38 You must beat the said flesh-meat more or less with a wooden rowler or pestel, according to the said fleshes thickness and hardness.

1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours i. ii. 8 You may easily satisfie your self Pyro: of the differing hardness and toughness, which is ascribed to Steel temper'd at different Colours.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 54 Oaken-pin, so called from its hardness, is a lasting Fruit.

1793 W. Hodges Trav. India 87 I found the teek, a timber remarkable for its hardness and size.

1803 J. Ainslie in A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. I. xvii. 226 A very considerable number of earth-marls are of a stony hardness.

1895 N. Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. i. 8 The hardness of crystals in different directions has been estimated by means of an instrument termed a sclerometer.

1956 R. Sutcliff Shield Ring iv. 35 The roads..were little more than a hardness under the heather, even on high ground.

1995 Sci. Amer. Jan. 64/3 Physicians have..noted the exceptionally resilient, ivorylike hardness of the afflicted bones.

2002 C. Ryan Land of Fire (2003) 340 The saw teeth were getting blunt with the hardness of the steel.

b. The degree of resistance of a mineral to abrasion and scratching. Cf. Mohs n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > minerals > mineral structure or appearance > [noun] > hardness

hardness1672

scratch hardness1928

1672 R. Boyle Ess. Origine & Virtues Gems 34 The Degree of hardness of Rubies and Saphires is oftentimes so equal, that I knew an expert English Jeweller, who..took Rubies and Saphires to be of the same kind of Stone.

1784 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. i. App. 171 (heading) Mr. Quist, the author of this Memoir determined the hardness of most of the following stones.

1820 tr. F. Mohs Char. of Classes Introd. p. xvi The degrees of hardness of a mineral, which is to be determined, must be compared with the hardness of the different members of this scale, by a fine and very hard file.

1955 R. M. Pearl How to know Minerals & Rocks 126 Corundum is aluminum oxide... Its hardness, surpassing that of all other minerals except diamond, enables it to serve as an abrasive.

2001 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Feb. h01 Quartz is surpassed on the Mohs hardness scale only by diamond, topaz and sapphire (corundum).

c. The penetrating power of a beam of electromagnetic radiation (esp. X-rays). Cf. hard adj. 23b.

ΚΠ

1903 Arch. Roentgen Ray 7 103 Dr. B. Walter has designed a form of gauge or scale for showing the degree of ‘hardness’ of X-ray tubes.

1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity iv. i. 45 The shorter the wave-length of the γ-rays, the greater is their penetrating power through matter, or the greater their ‘hardness’.

1940 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 88 309 The power of penetration of X-rays which is utilised in radiography depends both upon the kind of substance and upon the quality or hardness of the radiation.

2009 H. Schopper LEP: Lord of Collider Rings CERN v. 54 Another important parameter is the ‘hardness’ of the radiation (the photon energies), which determines its penetration power through matter.

a. The quality or condition of being stern, strict, severe, resistant to emotion, callous, etc. Also: an instance of this. hardness of heart n. [after post-classical Latin duritia cordis (Vulgate), itself after Hellenistic Greek σκληροκαρδία (New Testament)] hard-heartedness (cf. heart-hardness n. at heart n., int., and adv. Compounds 1b(b)).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness

rethenesseOE

grimness971

hardnessOE

sternhead1297

sharpnessa1325

reddoura1375

fiercetya1382

sternness1382

fiercenessc1384

sturdinessc1384

fellnessc1410

austeritya1425

raddourc1440

austerenessa1450

severity1530

cruelness1537

cruelty1556

severeness1579

tender mercies1611

piquancya1677

Draconianism1819

astringency1823

Draconism1832

hard-handedness1849

starkness1884

the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > obduracy

hardnessOE

rigourc1425

induration1493

indurateness1537

induritness1558

obduracy1600

obdurance1606

obdurateness1612

obdureness1624

obduredness1633

obdurity1655

OE Wulfstan God's Threat to Sinning Israel (Nero) 254 Þonne wyrð seo heardnes stiðmodre heortan..swyþe gehnexad þurh grimlice steora.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 8 Moyses for eower heortan heardnesse [c1200 Hatton heardnysse; L. ad duritiam cordis vestri] lyfde eow eower wif to forlætenne.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3022 And get ne migte ðis folc vt-gon, Swilc harnesse is on pharaon.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 29 (MED) Hardnesse of herte, huanne man is y-hert ine his kueadnesse.

R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 79 (MED) My voys Hardnes of my lemman suld softyn.

1544 Letanie in Exhort. vnto Prayer sig. Bv^v From hardnes of hart..Good lorde delyuer vs.

1574 J. Baret Aluearie N sig. H.h.i^v/1 Hardnesse in sparing of expenses: niggardship.

1656 H. More Life & Doctr. Iesus Christ i. 125 Lament thy owne slownes or slendernes in beleefe, and hardnes of hart.

1791 J. Trapp tr. L.-T. H. de Lavicomterie de Saint-Samson Crimes Kings of France 125 He..turns his back upon her, covering his hardness with an appearance of respect.

1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles II. xxvi. 310 A stony hardness settled on the young lady's face.

a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) ii. 140 Beneath that boyish exterior was..the male hardness, the callousness that met the brunt and withstood the shock of onset.

1912 Atlantic Monthly May 650/1 His penetrative imagination..might shadow forth for us..the still emotions of those locked hearts; that inexorable mother's unmaternal hardness.

1991 New Age Jrnl. Apr. 106/2 It was historical necessity and not innate hardness of heart or taste for cruelty that caused masculinity to evolve into a shell of muscle and will wrapped around a vacuum.

2008 New Yorker 11 Aug. 71/3 She had a hardness about her, with a cigarette-roughened voice, but people who know her also spoke to me of her kindness.

b. Steadfastness, hardiness; (in later use also) the quality of being tough or aggressive (cf. hard adj. 2a(b)).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [noun]

steadfastnessa1000

anrednessOE

stead-stathelfastness?c1225

stability13..

steadfastshipc1320

traistnessa1340

constance1340

sadnessc1384

unmovablenessc1384

hardnessa1400

steadfastheadc1400

unmobletya1425

firmitya1450

constancy1526

constantness1530

firmitude?1541

firmness1553

stoutness1561

settledness1571

cleaving1580

solidity1607

immovableness1617

staunchness1623

fixedness1626

fixationa1631

unswayednessa1656

steadiness1663

sturdiness1675

unbendingness1824

indomitability1851

indomitableness1860

thick and thin1884

fixity1885

unshakability1907

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 4200 (MED) Þyr may no man so yware be..for rychesse, Ne powere, ne hardnesse [a1425 Bodl. hardynesse]..Þat treytorhede ne wyl hym asayle.

c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 62 It was not I, that dide the aventures of armes, bot it was ye..for the myght and the hardenes that I haue, I haue itt of you.

1566 T. Blundeville Bredynge of Horses iii. f. 12^v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe All wryters do..prayse the Horse of Barbary..for his hardnesse, in that he neadeth small attendaunce and kepinge, and wyll not surfet vpon euery lytle sweate or colde.

1641 T. Heywood Life of Merlin ii. 15 Hengist..had before tasted of their hardnesse and courage.

1709 J. Ray Wisdom of God (ed. 5) i. 192 I have armed thee with Courage and Hardness to attempt the Seas.

1911 Irish Times 15 Sept. 6/6 He doubts..whether their grand old qualities of courage and hardness will be inherited by the nurselings of that universal incubator, the State.

1963 P. Jacobs State of Unions 9 There is a posture of hardness and violence about the man that is found in many teamsters.

2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 31 July i. 10/2 They grew up in rough inner-city neighborhoods where ‘hardness’—the ability to fight anyone, at any time—was essential.

3. The quality of being hard to bear; adversity, hardship; harsh treatment; austerity. Also: an instance of this; = hardship n. 2a, 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > hardship > a) hardship(s)

hardnesseOE

hardship?c1225

fitc1325

hardinessa1398

a bitter spreada1500

endurancea1555

endurement1605

straina1628

a hard chapter1684

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvii. 358 He þær mid feawa his geferena in heardnesse munuclifes [L. in monachica districtione]..monegra geara tide lifde.

OE Rule St. Benet (Tiber.) (1888) lviii. 96 Predicentur ei omnia dura et aspera : beon gebodenne ealra heardnessa & stiðnissa.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 236 Hit be-houeþ þet uless beate and wesse be dissiplines and be hardnesses.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 19325 Þai durst no hardnes þaim do.

?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iv. pr. v. l. 3783 So as god ȝeueþ..to goode folk hardnesse and to shrewes [he] graunteþ hem her wille.

c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 75 (MED) Ihesu Crist..ches pouerte & schame and hardnesse, and forsoke ioye, honour, & richesse.

?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth lvii. f. lxxxiii To Marius were these hardnesses moche pleasure and delyte.

a1545 Now synge We xi, in J. Skelton Poet. Wks. (1843) I. 146 Jesu..That for man suffred great hardnes.

1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Mar. 23 Gloss. By reason of Winters hardnesse.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. viii. sig. H2 Enur'd to hardnesse and to homely fare.

1658 Bp. J. Taylor Let. in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 102 One of the hardnesses will be that you must overcome even this just and reasonable grief.

1704 tr. A. de Ovalle Of Kingdom of Chile in A. Churchill & J. Churchill Coll. Voy. III. 53/2 Because of the Hardness of the Weather.

a1745 J. Swift To Mr. Gay in Poems (1958) 533 The tenants poor, the hardness of the times.

1843 Christian Remembrancer June 801 Before time and wear and hard work, and some of the hardnesses of life had made him a wiser man.

1903 J. Brierley Probl. of Living xxiii. 221 The race, tutored so long in the school of hardness and adversity, is..to be taken in hand by a new educator—prosperity.

1997 S. Pollard Marginal Europe iv. 89 The Avergnat was noted for the hardness of his life, his sobriety—and also the devotion of his family.

4. The quality or condition of being slow-witted; dullness or obtuseness of mind, intellect, etc.; stupidity. Cf. hard adj. 4. Now rare.In later use coloured by sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [noun]

hardnessOE

stuntnessc1000

sotshipc1050

witlessnessa1100

sotheada1200

dullness1398

bluntness1483

slowness1495

grossnessa1530

stupidity?1541

assishness?1548

dastardness1552

lourderie1555

dastardliness1556

blockishness1561

doltishness1569

sottage1569

sheepishness1574

doltry1581

sottishness1589

doltage1593

dorbellism1593

grout-headry1600

opacity1611

duncery1615

dunstery1615

stupidness1619

hebetude1621

insulsity1623

unintelligence1634

obtuseness1648

jobbernowlism1652

dullery1653

non-intelligence1653

blockheadishness1656

crassness1664

blockheadedness1716

stolidness1727

blockheadism1753

numbskullity1779

nincompoophood1791

duncishness1805

numbskullism1806

foziness1821

noodledum1821

obtusity1823

soft-headedness1823

noodledom1827

duncehood1829

dunderheadedness1830

sumphishness1830

asininity1831

dunderheadism1836

stockishness1837

dullardness1840

fat-headedness1840

stupor1845

duncedom1847

misintelligence1848

nincompoopery1850

wooden-headedness1850

dumminess1852

jolterheadedness1852

ninnyship1852

donkeyism1855

dumbness1860

beef-wittedness1863

crassitude1865

donkeyhood1869

slow-wittedness1869

chuckle-headedness1880

leatherheadedness1880

pinheadedness1884

numbskulledness1885

donkeydom1889

thickheadedness1889

density1894

moronism1922

nitwittedness1931

nitwittery1931

noodleness1931

dopiness1942

squirrel-headedness1955

nincompoopism1957

dim-wittedness1960

clottishness1961

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xvi. 162 He ðreade heora andgites heardnysse, and him geopenode ða halgan gewritu þe be him wæron gesette.

c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 122 A forehed that ys narwgh be-fore betokynnyth bestyalte and ontaugh[t]nes, for hardenes off wytt and onclennes in lyuyng.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 4^v If one, by quicknes of witte, take his lesson readelie, an other, by hardnes of witte, taketh it not so speedelie: the first is alwaies commended, the other is commonlie punished.

1598 F. Meres Palladis Tamia f. 157 As Iron and brasse are worne by the touch of the hands: so by exercise the hardnes of wit is worne away.

1600 J. Golburne tr. C. de Valera Two Treat. i. 130 He was..like vnto Paul 2. in hardnes of vnderstanding; & not giuen to learning.

1671 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1872) II. 271 If any boy, thorow neglect or hardnes of ingyne, come short of his fellow.

1843 A. Dallas Pastor's Assistant II. i. 82 Handley..has all the difficulty and hardness of intellect of an old man brought up in ignorance.

1861 A. P. Stanley Lect. Eastern Church vii. 291 ‘Orthodox’..is a term which implies, to a certain extent, narrowness, fixedness, perhaps even hardness, of intellect, and deadness of feeling.

1909 Christian Reg. (Boston) 2 Sept. 931/1 It is hardness of mind. To give it the name it is commonly known by among those who are fond of calling a spade a spade, it is stupidity, it is thick-headedness.

5. In a thing or action: the quality or fact of being difficult for a person to achieve, understand, solve, etc.; difficulty. Chiefly with of; also occasionally with †to and infinitive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun]

arvethnessc1000

painc1330

difficultya1382

hardnessc1384

wondsome?a1400

hardheada1425

painfulnessa1530

difficult?1532

difficultness1549

awkness1587

uneasiness1594

difficileness1612

arduity1623

problem1641

difficacity1656

going1678

arduousness1731

catch-arse1970

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. ii. 25 We byholdynge the multitude of bookis, and hardnesse [L. difficultatem], to men willynge for to assaile..the tellyngis of stories, [etc.].

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 227 Hardenesse of..dede doynge, difficultas.

1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies Frutefull Exhort. sig. ❧.iv Other pretende, that the difficultie to vnderstande it [sc. holy scripture], and the hardnes therof is soo greate, that it is mete to be redde, onely of clarkes and learned men.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iv. 34 O hardnesse to dissemble.

1679 R. Chamberlain Arithmetick v. 62 I have known many that..with the hardness and difficulty of Division have been quite disheartned from proceeding any further.

1759 tr. Horace Satires i. x, in W. Duncombe et al. tr. Horace Wks. II. 159 May not we with equal Reason ask, Whether the Hardness of the Poet's Task, Or Want of Care, produc'd such rugged Strains?

1799 tr. F.-A.-F. de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt Maxims & Moral Refl. 102 Should we fail, Against the hardness of our task we rail.

1872 Rep. Curators to Governor (Univ. Missouri) 131 I have not heard from you..a single word of complaint of over-work or the hardness of your task.

1914 Science 28 Aug. 296/2 After the blind complacency of conventional evolutionists it is refreshing to meet so frank an acknowledgment of the hardness of the problem.

2001 S. Openshaw & A. Turner in J. Stillwell & H. Scholten Land Use Simulation for Europe x. 127 The hardness of this challenge should not be underestimated.

6. With of. In a person: the fact or quality of finding it difficult to do something physical. Now only in hardness of hearing (cf. hard of hearing at hard adj. and n. Phrases 5).

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. xxix. 374 Difficulte and hardnesse of breþinge hat asma.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 147 (MED) Signes forsoþ of stone of þe vesic ar..whitnez And hardnez [L. difficultas] of vrynyng.

1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) vi. f. 80^v Moysture in the eyes and eares dulnesse of syght, hardnes of herynge, tisiknesse or shortnesse of breth.

1684 S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Tract Scurvy in Pract. Physick (rev. ed.) iii. 183 Presently the Sick are wont to find a swelling of the Ventricle and Hypochondria, a hardness of Breath, or a wasting of the Spirits.

1753 R. Brookes Gen. Dispensatory 70 Horse-Mint is said to kill Worms, to be good in the Asthma, to promote the Menses, and to help Hardness of Hearing.

1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 244 Where hardness of hearing is habitual and cannot be radically cured.

1892 Pedagogical Seminary 2 413 The percentage of hardness of hearing in any one province does not change much from the average.

1922 Jrnl. Industr. Hygiene Jan. 265/2 Hardness of hearing among engine drivers increases in proportion to the length of service.

2009 Irish Times (Nexis) 12 Sept. 15 Childhood illnesses left him a legacy of physical ailments including facial tics, poor eyesight, and hardness of hearing.

7. The quality of being hard in aspect, appearance, etc.; starkness, forbiddingness. Also: harshness of flavour.With quot. 1598, cf. hard-favoured adj. 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness > of expression

grimness1565

sternness1590

hardness1598

severity1711

grim1845

1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man v. 426 Wealth maketh a woman proud, beautie suspected, and hardnesse of fauour, lothsome.

a1626 L. Andrewes Institutiones Piæ (1630) 140 Deliuer me O Lord, From..Hardnesse of countenance.

a1694 J. Tillotson tr. Bible Isa. 3:9 in Several Disc. Repentance (1700) vi. 188 The hardness of their countenance doth testifie against them.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 127 Honey-Combs, of Golden Juice..T' allay the Strength and Hardness of the Wine.

1783 W. Mason tr. C. A. Dufresnoy Art of Painting 24 Some midway fold..That gently meets the light, and gently spreads To break the hardness of opposing shades.

1817 Mod. Manners I. vii. 98 If his appearance might altogether be called soldier-like and martial, yet there was a hardness of feature..quite inconsistent with tenderness.

1895 G. L. Raymond Painting, Sculpt. & Archit. xx. 382 The very hardness of the forms..served to heighten the impression of immensity and power.

1914 A. Fairbanks Athenian Lekythoi 95 This splendid lekythos, in spite of a slight hardness in the treatment of the faces, is one of the finest examples of Greek painting that are extant.

1994 D. Watt Journey Hector Rabinal 85 She never smiled, as if to smile would break the hardness of her face.

8. The property of water of containing a relatively high concentration of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts; the amount or degree of this; cf. hard adj. 19.permanent hardness, temporary hardness: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > liquid > water > [noun] > hardness or softness of

hardness1712

softness1712

permanent hardness1870

temporary hardness1895

1712 J. Morton Nat. Hist. Northants. iv. 267 In the Water of different Fountains, there are different Degrees of Softness or Hardness.

1818 Philos. Mag. 52 7 Where the quality of hardness in waters is occasioned by the presence of sulphate or muriate of lime, &c. no changes can be produced in such waters by boiling, and the agency of an alkali is indispensably necessary to render them soft.

1852 Q. Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 4 387 The hardness of the metropolitan water-supply..may be considered as the same whether derived from the Thames or the Lea.

1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xi. 239 The standard soap solution is used to titrate 50 c.c. of the water and from the result the hardness of the water can be obtained from specially prepared hardness tables.

1947 Sewage Wks. Jrnl. 19 980/1 A base-exchanging substance chemically identical with the zeolites used to remove hardness from water.

2007 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 5 Aug. (Real Estate Guide) 70 Water hardness is tested voluntarily as an unregulated Secondary Drinking Water Standard.

9. In other senses, corresponding to various extended and technical uses of hard adj. (see, for example, senses 10, 18, 27).

ΚΠ

1728 F. Altieri New Gram., Ital.-Eng. & Eng.-Ital. i. 13 The Letter r is naturally hard, and sometimes we double it in our Language to give it a greater hardness.

1810 C. J. Ingersoll Inchiquin, Jesuit's Lett. viii. 105 In America there is no difference of dialect. There is a hardness of pronunciation in the north, and an indolent mellowness in the south.

1883 Manch. Examiner 3 Dec. 4/1 The tendency of the rates was firm, owing to the hardness of the short loan market.

1917 Educ. Rev. Oct. 308 Consonants are also hard and soft, but apparently hardness and softness have nothing to do with blowing and murmuring.

2013 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Dec. (G2 section) 16 Radio presenter and trumpeter Paul Barnes..assesses the varying hardnesses of bop.

Compounds

General attributive (chiefly in sense 1), as hardness measurement, hardness scale, hardness test, hardness tester.

ΚΠ

1861 B. Silliman Rep. Water Supply Hartford 14 I believe it will be interesting to cite these analyses,..especially as some of them are used as terms of comparison for the hardness test under the next head.

1908 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 78 639 Maurer also gives an account of his investigations on the Shore hardness test.

1930 Engineering 19 Sept. 358/1 Rockwell hardness measurements and X-ray diffraction patterns had shown that lattice distortion could be accompanied by appreciable softening.

1951 D. Tabor Hardness of Metals i. 2 The Mohs hardness scale has been widely used by mineralogists and lapidaries.

2005 All Terrain Boarding Mag. May 72/2 There are a range of hardness tests including the Rockwell, Brinnell Koop and Vickers tests.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	hardness
释义	hardnessn. Brit. /ˈhɑːdnəs/, U.S. /ˈhɑrdnəs/ Forms: see hard adj. and n. and -ness suffix; also early Middle English hearnysra (accusative plural, transmission error). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old High German hartnissa < the Germanic base of hard adj. + the Germanic base of -ness suffix. The quality or condition of being hard (in various senses). 1. a. The quality or condition of being physically firm, unyielding, rigid, tough, etc. Also: an instance of this.In quot. OE¹: the hard part of something. In quot. OE² ðæs magan heardnes, lit. ‘hardness of the stomach’, apparently denotes constipation. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [noun] hardnessOE hardinessa1398 obdurityc1600 marblenessa1631 durity1646 unimpressibility1854 flintiness1871 secondary hardening1915 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) x. 86 Se halga wer ða sona het þa heardnesse swiðe holian onmiddan ðære flore his fægeran botles. OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) clxvi. 210 Wiþ ðæs magan heardnysse genim þysse ylcan wyrte blostman. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 33 Hie liþegað alle ardnesse. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. ii. 693 Erþeshakynge is noȝt in grauely place but in place with..hardenesse withoute as a place of hilles and of mountayns. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 195 Hardnes of clothyng on bak & in bed. 1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. sig. H.ij^v/1 Gyue hym to ete moyst flesshe and motton, for the moystnes of the flesshe maketh y^e hardnes of the braynepan. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 160^v Powre in playster, or some liquid thing, that may come to a hardnesse in the shell. 1610 E. Gardiner Triall of Tabacco f. 12^v Wandring swellings,and hardnesses of the spleene. 1656 tr. Marnettè Perfect Cook xviii. 38 You must beat the said flesh-meat more or less with a wooden rowler or pestel, according to the said fleshes thickness and hardness. 1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours i. ii. 8 You may easily satisfie your self Pyro: of the differing hardness and toughness, which is ascribed to Steel temper'd at different Colours. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 54 Oaken-pin, so called from its hardness, is a lasting Fruit. 1793 W. Hodges Trav. India 87 I found the teek, a timber remarkable for its hardness and size. 1803 J. Ainslie in A. Hunter et al. Georgical Ess. I. xvii. 226 A very considerable number of earth-marls are of a stony hardness. 1895 N. Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. i. 8 The hardness of crystals in different directions has been estimated by means of an instrument termed a sclerometer. 1956 R. Sutcliff Shield Ring iv. 35 The roads..were little more than a hardness under the heather, even on high ground. 1995 Sci. Amer. Jan. 64/3 Physicians have..noted the exceptionally resilient, ivorylike hardness of the afflicted bones. 2002 C. Ryan Land of Fire (2003) 340 The saw teeth were getting blunt with the hardness of the steel. b. The degree of resistance of a mineral to abrasion and scratching. Cf. Mohs n. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > minerals > mineral structure or appearance > [noun] > hardness hardness1672 scratch hardness1928 1672 R. Boyle Ess. Origine & Virtues Gems 34 The Degree of hardness of Rubies and Saphires is oftentimes so equal, that I knew an expert English Jeweller, who..took Rubies and Saphires to be of the same kind of Stone. 1784 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. i. App. 171 (heading) Mr. Quist, the author of this Memoir determined the hardness of most of the following stones. 1820 tr. F. Mohs Char. of Classes Introd. p. xvi The degrees of hardness of a mineral, which is to be determined, must be compared with the hardness of the different members of this scale, by a fine and very hard file. 1955 R. M. Pearl How to know Minerals & Rocks 126 Corundum is aluminum oxide... Its hardness, surpassing that of all other minerals except diamond, enables it to serve as an abrasive. 2001 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Feb. h01 Quartz is surpassed on the Mohs hardness scale only by diamond, topaz and sapphire (corundum). c. The penetrating power of a beam of electromagnetic radiation (esp. X-rays). Cf. hard adj. 23b. ΚΠ 1903 Arch. Roentgen Ray 7 103 Dr. B. Walter has designed a form of gauge or scale for showing the degree of ‘hardness’ of X-ray tubes. 1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity iv. i. 45 The shorter the wave-length of the γ-rays, the greater is their penetrating power through matter, or the greater their ‘hardness’. 1940 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 88 309 The power of penetration of X-rays which is utilised in radiography depends both upon the kind of substance and upon the quality or hardness of the radiation. 2009 H. Schopper LEP: Lord of Collider Rings CERN v. 54 Another important parameter is the ‘hardness’ of the radiation (the photon energies), which determines its penetration power through matter. 2. a. The quality or condition of being stern, strict, severe, resistant to emotion, callous, etc. Also: an instance of this. hardness of heart n. [after post-classical Latin duritia cordis (Vulgate), itself after Hellenistic Greek σκληροκαρδία (New Testament)] hard-heartedness (cf. heart-hardness n. at heart n., int., and adv. Compounds 1b(b)). ΘΚΠ society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness rethenesseOE grimness971 hardnessOE sternhead1297 sharpnessa1325 reddoura1375 fiercetya1382 sternness1382 fiercenessc1384 sturdinessc1384 fellnessc1410 austeritya1425 raddourc1440 austerenessa1450 severity1530 cruelness1537 cruelty1556 severeness1579 tender mercies1611 piquancya1677 Draconianism1819 astringency1823 Draconism1832 hard-handedness1849 starkness1884 the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > obduracy hardnessOE rigourc1425 induration1493 indurateness1537 induritness1558 obduracy1600 obdurance1606 obdurateness1612 obdureness1624 obduredness1633 obdurity1655 OE Wulfstan God's Threat to Sinning Israel (Nero) 254 Þonne wyrð seo heardnes stiðmodre heortan..swyþe gehnexad þurh grimlice steora. OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 8 Moyses for eower heortan heardnesse [c1200 Hatton heardnysse; L. ad duritiam cordis vestri] lyfde eow eower wif to forlætenne. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3022 And get ne migte ðis folc vt-gon, Swilc harnesse is on pharaon. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 29 (MED) Hardnesse of herte, huanne man is y-hert ine his kueadnesse. R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 79 (MED) My voys Hardnes of my lemman suld softyn. 1544 Letanie in Exhort. vnto Prayer sig. Bv^v From hardnes of hart..Good lorde delyuer vs. 1574 J. Baret Aluearie N sig. H.h.i^v/1 Hardnesse in sparing of expenses: niggardship. 1656 H. More Life & Doctr. Iesus Christ i. 125 Lament thy owne slownes or slendernes in beleefe, and hardnes of hart. 1791 J. Trapp tr. L.-T. H. de Lavicomterie de Saint-Samson Crimes Kings of France 125 He..turns his back upon her, covering his hardness with an appearance of respect. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles II. xxvi. 310 A stony hardness settled on the young lady's face. a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) ii. 140 Beneath that boyish exterior was..the male hardness, the callousness that met the brunt and withstood the shock of onset. 1912 Atlantic Monthly May 650/1 His penetrative imagination..might shadow forth for us..the still emotions of those locked hearts; that inexorable mother's unmaternal hardness. 1991 New Age Jrnl. Apr. 106/2 It was historical necessity and not innate hardness of heart or taste for cruelty that caused masculinity to evolve into a shell of muscle and will wrapped around a vacuum. 2008 New Yorker 11 Aug. 71/3 She had a hardness about her, with a cigarette-roughened voice, but people who know her also spoke to me of her kindness. b. Steadfastness, hardiness; (in later use also) the quality of being tough or aggressive (cf. hard adj. 2a(b)). ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [noun] steadfastnessa1000 anrednessOE stead-stathelfastness?c1225 stability13.. steadfastshipc1320 traistnessa1340 constance1340 sadnessc1384 unmovablenessc1384 hardnessa1400 steadfastheadc1400 unmobletya1425 firmitya1450 constancy1526 constantness1530 firmitude?1541 firmness1553 stoutness1561 settledness1571 cleaving1580 solidity1607 immovableness1617 staunchness1623 fixedness1626 fixationa1631 unswayednessa1656 steadiness1663 sturdiness1675 unbendingness1824 indomitability1851 indomitableness1860 thick and thin1884 fixity1885 unshakability1907 a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 4200 (MED) Þyr may no man so yware be..for rychesse, Ne powere, ne hardnesse [a1425 Bodl. hardynesse]..Þat treytorhede ne wyl hym asayle. c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 62 It was not I, that dide the aventures of armes, bot it was ye..for the myght and the hardenes that I haue, I haue itt of you. 1566 T. Blundeville Bredynge of Horses iii. f. 12^v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe All wryters do..prayse the Horse of Barbary..for his hardnesse, in that he neadeth small attendaunce and kepinge, and wyll not surfet vpon euery lytle sweate or colde. 1641 T. Heywood Life of Merlin ii. 15 Hengist..had before tasted of their hardnesse and courage. 1709 J. Ray Wisdom of God (ed. 5) i. 192 I have armed thee with Courage and Hardness to attempt the Seas. 1911 Irish Times 15 Sept. 6/6 He doubts..whether their grand old qualities of courage and hardness will be inherited by the nurselings of that universal incubator, the State. 1963 P. Jacobs State of Unions 9 There is a posture of hardness and violence about the man that is found in many teamsters. 2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 31 July i. 10/2 They grew up in rough inner-city neighborhoods where ‘hardness’—the ability to fight anyone, at any time—was essential. 3. The quality of being hard to bear; adversity, hardship; harsh treatment; austerity. Also: an instance of this; = hardship n. 2a, 3. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > hardship > a) hardship(s) hardnesseOE hardship?c1225 fitc1325 hardinessa1398 a bitter spreada1500 endurancea1555 endurement1605 straina1628 a hard chapter1684 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvii. 358 He þær mid feawa his geferena in heardnesse munuclifes [L. in monachica districtione]..monegra geara tide lifde. OE Rule St. Benet (Tiber.) (1888) lviii. 96 Predicentur ei omnia dura et aspera : beon gebodenne ealra heardnessa & stiðnissa. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 236 Hit be-houeþ þet uless beate and wesse be dissiplines and be hardnesses. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 19325 Þai durst no hardnes þaim do. ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iv. pr. v. l. 3783 So as god ȝeueþ..to goode folk hardnesse and to shrewes [he] graunteþ hem her wille. c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 75 (MED) Ihesu Crist..ches pouerte & schame and hardnesse, and forsoke ioye, honour, & richesse. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth lvii. f. lxxxiii To Marius were these hardnesses moche pleasure and delyte. a1545 Now synge We xi, in J. Skelton Poet. Wks. (1843) I. 146 Jesu..That for man suffred great hardnes. 1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Mar. 23 Gloss. By reason of Winters hardnesse. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. viii. sig. H2 Enur'd to hardnesse and to homely fare. View more context for this quotation 1658 Bp. J. Taylor Let. in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 102 One of the hardnesses will be that you must overcome even this just and reasonable grief. 1704 tr. A. de Ovalle Of Kingdom of Chile in A. Churchill & J. Churchill Coll. Voy. III. 53/2 Because of the Hardness of the Weather. a1745 J. Swift To Mr. Gay in Poems (1958) 533 The tenants poor, the hardness of the times. 1843 Christian Remembrancer June 801 Before time and wear and hard work, and some of the hardnesses of life had made him a wiser man. 1903 J. Brierley Probl. of Living xxiii. 221 The race, tutored so long in the school of hardness and adversity, is..to be taken in hand by a new educator—prosperity. 1997 S. Pollard Marginal Europe iv. 89 The Avergnat was noted for the hardness of his life, his sobriety—and also the devotion of his family. 4. The quality or condition of being slow-witted; dullness or obtuseness of mind, intellect, etc.; stupidity. Cf. hard adj. 4. Now rare.In later use coloured by sense 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupidity, dullness of intellect > [noun] hardnessOE stuntnessc1000 sotshipc1050 witlessnessa1100 sotheada1200 dullness1398 bluntness1483 slowness1495 grossnessa1530 stupidity?1541 assishness?1548 dastardness1552 lourderie1555 dastardliness1556 blockishness1561 doltishness1569 sottage1569 sheepishness1574 doltry1581 sottishness1589 doltage1593 dorbellism1593 grout-headry1600 opacity1611 duncery1615 dunstery1615 stupidness1619 hebetude1621 insulsity1623 unintelligence1634 obtuseness1648 jobbernowlism1652 dullery1653 non-intelligence1653 blockheadishness1656 crassness1664 blockheadedness1716 stolidness1727 blockheadism1753 numbskullity1779 nincompoophood1791 duncishness1805 numbskullism1806 foziness1821 noodledum1821 obtusity1823 soft-headedness1823 noodledom1827 duncehood1829 dunderheadedness1830 sumphishness1830 asininity1831 dunderheadism1836 stockishness1837 dullardness1840 fat-headedness1840 stupor1845 duncedom1847 misintelligence1848 nincompoopery1850 wooden-headedness1850 dumminess1852 jolterheadedness1852 ninnyship1852 donkeyism1855 dumbness1860 beef-wittedness1863 crassitude1865 donkeyhood1869 slow-wittedness1869 chuckle-headedness1880 leatherheadedness1880 pinheadedness1884 numbskulledness1885 donkeydom1889 thickheadedness1889 density1894 moronism1922 nitwittedness1931 nitwittery1931 noodleness1931 dopiness1942 squirrel-headedness1955 nincompoopism1957 dim-wittedness1960 clottishness1961 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xvi. 162 He ðreade heora andgites heardnysse, and him geopenode ða halgan gewritu þe be him wæron gesette. c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 122 A forehed that ys narwgh be-fore betokynnyth bestyalte and ontaugh[t]nes, for hardenes off wytt and onclennes in lyuyng. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 4^v If one, by quicknes of witte, take his lesson readelie, an other, by hardnes of witte, taketh it not so speedelie: the first is alwaies commended, the other is commonlie punished. 1598 F. Meres Palladis Tamia f. 157 As Iron and brasse are worne by the touch of the hands: so by exercise the hardnes of wit is worne away. 1600 J. Golburne tr. C. de Valera Two Treat. i. 130 He was..like vnto Paul 2. in hardnes of vnderstanding; & not giuen to learning. 1671 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1872) II. 271 If any boy, thorow neglect or hardnes of ingyne, come short of his fellow. 1843 A. Dallas Pastor's Assistant II. i. 82 Handley..has all the difficulty and hardness of intellect of an old man brought up in ignorance. 1861 A. P. Stanley Lect. Eastern Church vii. 291 ‘Orthodox’..is a term which implies, to a certain extent, narrowness, fixedness, perhaps even hardness, of intellect, and deadness of feeling. 1909 Christian Reg. (Boston) 2 Sept. 931/1 It is hardness of mind. To give it the name it is commonly known by among those who are fond of calling a spade a spade, it is stupidity, it is thick-headedness. 5. In a thing or action: the quality or fact of being difficult for a person to achieve, understand, solve, etc.; difficulty. Chiefly with of; also occasionally with †to and infinitive. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] arvethnessc1000 painc1330 difficultya1382 hardnessc1384 wondsome?a1400 hardheada1425 painfulnessa1530 difficult?1532 difficultness1549 awkness1587 uneasiness1594 difficileness1612 arduity1623 problem1641 difficacity1656 going1678 arduousness1731 catch-arse1970 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. ii. 25 We byholdynge the multitude of bookis, and hardnesse [L. difficultatem], to men willynge for to assaile..the tellyngis of stories, [etc.]. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 227 Hardenesse of..dede doynge, difficultas. 1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies Frutefull Exhort. sig. ❧.iv Other pretende, that the difficultie to vnderstande it [sc. holy scripture], and the hardnes therof is soo greate, that it is mete to be redde, onely of clarkes and learned men. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iv. 34 O hardnesse to dissemble. View more context for this quotation 1679 R. Chamberlain Arithmetick v. 62 I have known many that..with the hardness and difficulty of Division have been quite disheartned from proceeding any further. 1759 tr. Horace Satires i. x, in W. Duncombe et al. tr. Horace Wks. II. 159 May not we with equal Reason ask, Whether the Hardness of the Poet's Task, Or Want of Care, produc'd such rugged Strains? 1799 tr. F.-A.-F. de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt Maxims & Moral Refl. 102 Should we fail, Against the hardness of our task we rail. 1872 Rep. Curators to Governor (Univ. Missouri) 131 I have not heard from you..a single word of complaint of over-work or the hardness of your task. 1914 Science 28 Aug. 296/2 After the blind complacency of conventional evolutionists it is refreshing to meet so frank an acknowledgment of the hardness of the problem. 2001 S. Openshaw & A. Turner in J. Stillwell & H. Scholten Land Use Simulation for Europe x. 127 The hardness of this challenge should not be underestimated. 6. With of. In a person: the fact or quality of finding it difficult to do something physical. Now only in hardness of hearing (cf. hard of hearing at hard adj. and n. Phrases 5). ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. xxix. 374 Difficulte and hardnesse of breþinge hat asma. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 147 (MED) Signes forsoþ of stone of þe vesic ar..whitnez And hardnez [L. difficultas] of vrynyng. 1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) vi. f. 80^v Moysture in the eyes and eares dulnesse of syght, hardnes of herynge, tisiknesse or shortnesse of breth. 1684 S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Tract Scurvy in Pract. Physick (rev. ed.) iii. 183 Presently the Sick are wont to find a swelling of the Ventricle and Hypochondria, a hardness of Breath, or a wasting of the Spirits. 1753 R. Brookes Gen. Dispensatory 70 Horse-Mint is said to kill Worms, to be good in the Asthma, to promote the Menses, and to help Hardness of Hearing. 1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 244 Where hardness of hearing is habitual and cannot be radically cured. 1892 Pedagogical Seminary 2 413 The percentage of hardness of hearing in any one province does not change much from the average. 1922 Jrnl. Industr. Hygiene Jan. 265/2 Hardness of hearing among engine drivers increases in proportion to the length of service. 2009 Irish Times (Nexis) 12 Sept. 15 Childhood illnesses left him a legacy of physical ailments including facial tics, poor eyesight, and hardness of hearing. 7. The quality of being hard in aspect, appearance, etc.; starkness, forbiddingness. Also: harshness of flavour.With quot. 1598, cf. hard-favoured adj. 1. ΘΚΠ society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness > of expression grimness1565 sternness1590 hardness1598 severity1711 grim1845 1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man v. 426 Wealth maketh a woman proud, beautie suspected, and hardnesse of fauour, lothsome. a1626 L. Andrewes Institutiones Piæ (1630) 140 Deliuer me O Lord, From..Hardnesse of countenance. a1694 J. Tillotson tr. Bible Isa. 3:9 in Several Disc. Repentance (1700) vi. 188 The hardness of their countenance doth testifie against them. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 127 Honey-Combs, of Golden Juice..T' allay the Strength and Hardness of the Wine. View more context for this quotation 1783 W. Mason tr. C. A. Dufresnoy Art of Painting 24 Some midway fold..That gently meets the light, and gently spreads To break the hardness of opposing shades. 1817 Mod. Manners I. vii. 98 If his appearance might altogether be called soldier-like and martial, yet there was a hardness of feature..quite inconsistent with tenderness. 1895 G. L. Raymond Painting, Sculpt. & Archit. xx. 382 The very hardness of the forms..served to heighten the impression of immensity and power. 1914 A. Fairbanks Athenian Lekythoi 95 This splendid lekythos, in spite of a slight hardness in the treatment of the faces, is one of the finest examples of Greek painting that are extant. 1994 D. Watt Journey Hector Rabinal 85 She never smiled, as if to smile would break the hardness of her face. 8. The property of water of containing a relatively high concentration of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts; the amount or degree of this; cf. hard adj. 19.permanent hardness, temporary hardness: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > liquid > water > [noun] > hardness or softness of hardness1712 softness1712 permanent hardness1870 temporary hardness1895 1712 J. Morton Nat. Hist. Northants. iv. 267 In the Water of different Fountains, there are different Degrees of Softness or Hardness. 1818 Philos. Mag. 52 7 Where the quality of hardness in waters is occasioned by the presence of sulphate or muriate of lime, &c. no changes can be produced in such waters by boiling, and the agency of an alkali is indispensably necessary to render them soft. 1852 Q. Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 4 387 The hardness of the metropolitan water-supply..may be considered as the same whether derived from the Thames or the Lea. 1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xi. 239 The standard soap solution is used to titrate 50 c.c. of the water and from the result the hardness of the water can be obtained from specially prepared hardness tables. 1947 Sewage Wks. Jrnl. 19 980/1 A base-exchanging substance chemically identical with the zeolites used to remove hardness from water. 2007 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 5 Aug. (Real Estate Guide) 70 Water hardness is tested voluntarily as an unregulated Secondary Drinking Water Standard. 9. In other senses, corresponding to various extended and technical uses of hard adj. (see, for example, senses 10, 18, 27). ΚΠ 1728 F. Altieri New Gram., Ital.-Eng. & Eng.-Ital. i. 13 The Letter r is naturally hard, and sometimes we double it in our Language to give it a greater hardness. 1810 C. J. Ingersoll Inchiquin, Jesuit's Lett. viii. 105 In America there is no difference of dialect. There is a hardness of pronunciation in the north, and an indolent mellowness in the south. 1883 Manch. Examiner 3 Dec. 4/1 The tendency of the rates was firm, owing to the hardness of the short loan market. 1917 Educ. Rev. Oct. 308 Consonants are also hard and soft, but apparently hardness and softness have nothing to do with blowing and murmuring. 2013 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Dec. (G2 section) 16 Radio presenter and trumpeter Paul Barnes..assesses the varying hardnesses of bop. Compounds General attributive (chiefly in sense 1), as hardness measurement, hardness scale, hardness test, hardness tester. ΚΠ 1861 B. Silliman Rep. Water Supply Hartford 14 I believe it will be interesting to cite these analyses,..especially as some of them are used as terms of comparison for the hardness test under the next head. 1908 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 78 639 Maurer also gives an account of his investigations on the Shore hardness test. 1930 Engineering 19 Sept. 358/1 Rockwell hardness measurements and X-ray diffraction patterns had shown that lattice distortion could be accompanied by appreciable softening. 1951 D. Tabor Hardness of Metals i. 2 The Mohs hardness scale has been widely used by mineralogists and lapidaries. 2005 All Terrain Boarding Mag. May 72/2 There are a range of hardness tests including the Rockwell, Brinnell Koop and Vickers tests. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.eOE
随便看	lay claim to lay clerk lay close lay communion lay cut lay deacon lay dead lay down lay down a keel lay down a marker lay down arms lay down by lay down one's arms lay down one's head lay down one's life lay down one's rest lay down rubber lay down the law lay down the tomahawk lay down to grass lay dry, under water lay ear to lay elder lay embargo lay embargo on