closeness

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English close Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English closeness From close + -ness.

1. The state of being close (all senses).
2. The state of being friends.
3. The state of being mean or stingy.
4. The state of being secretive.
5. The shortest path between two vertices in a graph.
6. Solitude, seclusion.

   “I thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated / To closeness and the bettering of my mind [...]”