thorninessn.
/ˈθɔːnɪnɪs/ Thorny quality or condition, prickliness; figurative acerbity of manner, roughness, ruggedness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill-naturedness > sourness or bitterness of temper > [noun]
gallc1175
sourness1482
fellc1494
acerbitya1538
tartness1548
acrimony1597
verjuice1598
vinegara1616
acidness1660
asperity1664
thorniness1674
acidity1687
acerbitude1727
acridity1753
vitriol1769
souredness1858
the world > plants > part of plant > thorn or prickle > [noun] > thorniness or thornlessness
prickliness1725
thornlessness1857
thorniness1869
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > ruggedness of metre
thorniness1906
1674 R. Godfrey Var. Injuries in Physick 87 The Thornyness, or bad Character imprinted on the stomach,..might be obliterated.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. at Spinosity Thorniness, difficulty.
1869 A. R. Wallace Malay Archipel. I. x. 247 The most characteristic feature of the jungle was its thorniness.
1895 Cycl. Rev. Current Hist. (U.S.) 5 753 The historian's rude sallies and general thorniness.
1906 Athenæum 7 July 5/2 The thorniness of metre which this poet shares with Browning.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2020).
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n.1674