thickness
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English thikkenesse, thiknesse, from Old English þicnes (“thickness, viscosity, density, hardness; obscurity, cloud, darkness; thicket; depth, a thick body, anything thick or heavy”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwīnassī (“thickness”), equivalent to thick + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian tsjokkens (“thickness”), Old High German dickinessī, dikkinissi, diknissi (“thickness, density”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English crassitude (“thickness”) from Latin crassitūdō (“thickness”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
thickness (countable and uncountable, plural thicknesses)
- (uncountable) The property of being thick (in dimension).
- (uncountable, countable) A measure of how thick (in dimension) something is.
- The thickness of the Earth's crust varies from two to 70 kilometres.
- Guitar picks come in different thicknesses.
- (countable) A layer.
- We upholstered the seat with three thicknesses of cloth to make it more comfortable to sit on.
- (uncountable) The quality of being thick (in consistency).
- Whip the cream until it reaches a good thickness.
- (uncountable, informal) The property of being thick (slow to understand).
- (graph theory, countable) The minimum number of planar subgraphs which a given graph can decompose into.
Synonyms edit
- (the property of being thick in dimension): fatness
- (measure): depth
- (layer): layer, stratum
- (in consistency): density, viscosity
- (property of being stupid): denseness, slowness, stupidity, thickheadedness
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of "in consistency"): fluidity, liquidity, runniness, thinness, wateriness
- (antonym(s) of "property of being stupid"): mental acuity, mental agility, quick-wittedness, sharpness
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
property of being thick in dimension
|
measure
|
layer — see layer
in consistency
Verb edit
thickness (third-person singular simple present thicknesses, present participle thicknessing, simple past and past participle thicknessed)
- (transitive) To trim (wood) to a consistent thickness using a thickness planer.
- 2003, Garrett Hack, The Handplane Book, page 143:
- Even if the parts are thicknessed by machine, check for and plane out any cup with a bench plane.
