otiosity
/ˌəʊ.ʃi(ː)ˈɒs.ə.ti/
otiosity means the state or quality of being otiose. It carries an Arena rating of 1404, earned across 78 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, otiosity ranks #2,005 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,530 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #6,788 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #8,683 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
otiosity is pronounced /ˌəʊ.ʃi(ː)ˈɒs.ə.ti/.
Why “otiosity” is a great word
OTIOSITY — [Noun] The state or quality of being otiose, characterized by idle leisure, utter uselessness, or a profound redundancy. From Latin otiositas ("idleness, ease"), from otiosus ("at leisure, idle") + the noun-forming suffix -itas ("-ity"). Unlike "idleness," which implies a simple, perhaps bucolic, lack of activity, or "redundancy," which suggests a functional superfluity in a system, otiosity is a more formal, philosophical emptiness, a declared state of being without use or point. It is the dustless stillness of a decorative book no one will open, the elegant cog in a machine designed to accomplish nothing, and the impeccable logic of an argument that convinces no one and changes nothing—a quiet monument to the dignified luxury of being perfectly, beautifully unnecessary.
Etymology
From otiose + -ity, from Middle French ociosité, from Latin otiositas, from Latin otiosus + -itas (“-ity”).
noun
- The state or quality of being otiose.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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