pensiveness

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English pensive 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 pensiveness From pensive + -ness.

1. A thoughtful or reflective state, especially if sad or melancholic.

   “We left quietly so as not to disturb the widow's pensiveness.”

   “Yet the employment seemed a pleasant one; her cheek was flushed with a clear, rich crimson—her face / "Was like any fair lake that the morning is on, / When it breaks into dimples, and laughs in the sun." / And if, ever and anon, the brow was clouded by a shade of pensiveness, it was quickly dispelled by the consciousness of present happiness.”