thicknessn.
/ˈθɪknɪs/ I. The quality or condition of being thick.
1. Relatively large measurement through, or between opposite surfaces; stoutness, bulkiness; the opposite of thinness or slenderness. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun] > great thickness
thicknessc1000
greatnessOE
greatc1175
crassitudec1420
crassity1656
c1000 Ags. Gloss. in Haupt's Zeitschr. (1853) IX. 519 Elephantina callositate, hreoflicre þicnesse.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Crassamentum, thyckenesse... Crassities & crassitudo, fatnesse, thicknes, grossenes.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 80v The equall medley of..thicknesse and thinnesse.
1613 J. Hayward Liues III. Normans 23 As he grew in yeeres, so did he in thicknesse and fatnesse of body.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1641 (1955) II. 37 The incredible thicknesse of the Walls.
1885 J. Payn Luck of Darrells xx His companion's astounding thickness of skin [cf. thick-skinned adj. 2].
2. Measurement or extension of anything between its opposite surfaces; the third (and commonly least) dimension, distinct from length and breadth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun]
thicknessa900
grossness1570
third dimension1840
a900 Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. (1900) 44 He gewænde þæs wæteres gecynd on eles þicnesse.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 45 Þe þiknesse of þe erþe þorw oute is almest sexe þousand and fyue hondred myle.
14.. Tundale's Vis. (Wagner) 1314 Fourti cubytes on brede he hadde And nine on theknes was he made.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xxxiij The Frenchmen came on in .iii. ranges. xxxvi. mens thickenes [i.e. thirty-six deep].
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 1v A point..neither hath length, breadth, nor thickenes.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. Dict. 388 Riglet,..it is Quadrat high, of several Thicknesses, viz. a Nonparel, Brevier, Long-primmer, Pica, &c. Thick.
1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 103 The Crocodile is very ugly, having no Proportion between his Length and Thickness.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 9 In half an hour it will scarcely be the thickness of a sixpence.
1854 B. Powell Pereira's Lect. Polarized Light (ed. 2) 134 The resulting tint depends on the difference of the thicknesses.
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 411 They there attain a thickness which amounts to 1/ 2 or even more than 2/ 3 of the entire thickness of the leaf.
3. The quality or condition of being consistent or viscous (also, degree of consistence); of the air, the condition of being laden with impurities.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > state of being thick enough to retain form > [noun]
thicknessc1000
consistency1594
consistence1626
constancy1794
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > viscosity > [noun]
thicknessc1000
gleiminessa1398
gleimingness1398
glutinosityc1400
viscositya1425
threadinessc1425
gleimousnessc1440
clamminess1528
clammishness1528
yolkiness1528
toughness1574
viscousness1594
gumminess1600
gluishness1608
glueyness1611
viscidity1611
gummosity1651
tenaciousness1658
viscuousness1658
glutinousnessa1661
plasteriness1660
ropishness1662
snivelliness1662
ropiness1663
gummousness1666
stickiness1689
clam1694
viscidness1710
glairiness1866
treacliness1884
slabness1892
yuckiness1982
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 126 Cnuca mid wine on huniges þicnysse.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) iii. xvii. d iv b/1 Yf it is all clere & wtout thyknesse as the ayere is, thenne yt is not seen.
c1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 36 Medled togidre in suche þiknes þat it may be ȝetted in by a nastare of tree.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 27 Morter..unequall in thicknesse.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews ii. xiv, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 60 Whereby their sight being obstructed, and their breathing hindered by the thickness of the air, they died miserably.
1747 J. Wesley Primitive Physick 105 Mix Juice of Celandine..with Honey, to the thickness of Cream.
4. Of the air, etc.: Misty or hazy condition; obscurity, opacity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > [noun]
thicknessc1000
dusknessa1382
umbraclec1500
duskishness1541
sadness1601
duskiness1611
gloominess1611
opacity1611
gloom1645
shadowinessa1672
dusk1700
brown1729
gloaming1832
bat-light1871
dreich1928
the world > matter > gas > air > [noun] > air in any specific place or at specific time > thick or murky > quality
thicknessc1000
c1000 Ags. Ps. xcvi. 2 genipu and þicnæs, nubes et caligo.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 232 We ne magon for ðære fyrlynan heahnysse & þæra wolcna ðicnysse..hi næfre geseon.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 11036 And off the owgly ffoul thyknesse,..Thow shalt lese the syht off me.
5. Dense or crowded condition; closeness of collocation or growth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > plants collectively > [noun] > density of
thickness1398
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [noun] > bushy or thick > state of being
thickness1398
bushiness1730
Struwwelpeterdom1909
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > [noun] > fullness > crowdedness
crowdingc1384
thickness1398
crowdedness1823
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) v. xv Þiknes of berd is signe and tokenne of heete and of substancial humour and of strengþe.
1433 J. Lydgate Legend St. Edmund ii. 838 A couert, shrowded with thyknesse Of thornys sharpe.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 491/1 Thykkenesse, as of wodys, gresse, corne, or other lyke, densitas.
1825 W. Scott Talisman vi, in Tales Crusaders III. 140 His hair in thickness might have resembled that of Sampson.
6. Want of clearness in breathing, hearing, or utterance; indistinct articulation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > defective or inarticulate speech > [noun]
oblocution?a1475
hacking1539
misspeaking1650
babble1667
dysphonia1706
inarticulateness1731
inarticulation1765
garble1795
thickness1849
dyslalia1854
dyslaly1856
misarticulation1866
dysarthria1877
dysarthrosis1877
cluttering1878
anarthria1879
inarticulacy1921
dysphasia-
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Addicion Daseia, thyckenes of brethe.
1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech 168 Being at sometimes subject to thicknes of Hearing.
1686 Burnet Lett. (1708) 249 Her Nurse had an extraordinary Thickness of Hearing.
1849 A. M. Bell New Elucidation Princ. Speech & Elocution 154 The inarticulate confusion of speech which results, is commonly called ‘thickness’.
1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert iii His few observations being characterised by a decided thickness of utterance.
II. That which is thick or has thickness.
7. That which is thick, in any sense; the part (of anything) which is thick; the thick (of anything); the space between opposite surfaces (e.g. of a wall).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun] > great thickness > that which is thick
thicknessa1000
a1000 Lambeth Ps. cxvii[i]. 27 On þyccetum vel on ðicnessum, in condensis.
c1000 Ags. Gloss. in Haupt's Zeitschr. (1853) IX. 499 Sulphureis flammarum globis, sweflenum þicnyssum.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. ix. 18 It shal be brend vp in the thickenes of the wilde wode.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Ezek. xlii. 10 The chambres were in the thickenes of the wall of the court.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 82 They go down..by steps made in the thickness of the Walls.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 477 Incumbered with unwholesome marshes..and impenetrable thicknesses.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany vii. 93 The wall is here about five yards thick, and in its thickness are stone benches.
1905 R. Bagot Passport iii. 19 There was only the thickness of a floor between them.
8. A layer (of cloth, paper, etc.). In Foundry, A layer of loam in a mould which represents the object to be cast (e.g. a pipe, bell), and is broken away from the completed mould to make room for the molten metal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > one of a series of > of cloth, paper, or something folded
plya1500
fold1527
ploy1558
thickness1815
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 807 Place several thicknesses of paper upon the glass.
1832 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 2) vii. 402 The whole six thicknesses of planks..are then well drawn together, and fastened to each other, by the trunnels.
1884 N. E. Spretson Casting & Founding 215 In the absence of patterns, however, for these and for other varieties of short piping, they are swept up in loam, the core within the ‘thickness’.
1889 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 237 On top..a single thickness of common felt cloth is placed.
Derivatives
ˈthickness v. transitive (back-formation).
ΚΠ
1978 Early Music 6 506 The marks on the inside of the belly..have contributed to the theory that the central strip was first thicknessed and then bent to the long arch, the outer strip being glued to this solid and then carved in the usual way.
ˈthicknessed adj. (back-formation).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [adjective] > planed or shaven
planeda1382
shaven1788
jack-planed1840
machine-planed1904
thicknessed1915
1915 Machine Woodworker 15 Nov. 15/2 Running moulds from thicknessed boards on spindle machine may do if it is a special type of mould.
ˈthicknessing n. the action of reducing (boards, etc.) to a given thickness.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > other processes
framing1440
riving?1440
traversing1524
wedging1678
furring1679
cocking1710
bearding1711
battening1788
rossing1839
thicknessing1870
splining1901
parting off1905
reconditioning1932
stress grading1936
spindle moulding1979
1870 Eng. Mech. 4 Feb. 497/2 That side of the machine employed for tenoning, planing, thicknessing, or moulding.
1901 Daily Chron. 9 May 1/6 Planing and Thicknessing Machine, 20in.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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