stiffness

English

Etymology

From Middle English stiffenes, styffenesse, styfnesse; equivalent to stiff +‎ -ness. Perhaps merging with Middle English stithnesse, stithnysse, from Old English stīþness (“stiffness”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

stiffness (countable and uncountable, plural stiffnesses)

1. Rigidity or a measure of rigidity.
2. Inflexibility or a measure of inflexibility.
3. Inelegance; a lack of relaxedness.

   His stiffness hampered the conversation.

   • 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations‎^[1]:

     Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.

4. Muscular tension due to unaccustomed or excessive exercise or work; soreness.

Derived terms

• death-stiffness

 

Translations

rigidity

• Bulgarian: твърдост (bg) f (tvǎrdost)
• Czech: ztuhlost (cs) f
• Finnish: jäykkyys (fi)
• French: rigidité (fr), raideur (fr)
• Galician: tesura f, hirteza f, rixeza f
• German: Erstarrung (de) f, Starre (de) f, Steife f, Steifigkeit (de) f, Steifheit (de) f
• Hungarian: merevség (hu)
• Italian: rigidezza (it) f, rigidità (it) f
• Latin: rigor m
• Latvian: stingums m, stīvums m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stivhet m or f

• Portuguese: rigidez (pt) f
• Russian: жёсткость (ru) (žóstkostʹ)
• Spanish: rigidez (es) f
• Turkish: katılık (tr)

inflexibility

• Bulgarian: скованост (bg) f (skovanost), вдървеност (bg) f (vdǎrvenost)
• Finnish: taipumattomuus (fi)
• French: inflexibilité (fr)
• Italian: inflessibilità (it) f
• Latin: rigor m
• Portuguese: rigidez (pt) f
• Spanish: rigidez (es) f, inflexibilidad (es) f
• Turkish: direngenlik (tr), inatçılık (tr)

inelegance; lack of relaxedness

• French: raideur (fr)
• Russian: чо́порность (ru) (čópornostʹ)

muscular tension

• Bulgarian: схващане (bg) n (shvaštane)
• Catalan: cruiximent (ca) m
• Galician: maniotas (gl) f pl
• Macedonian: вкочанетост f (vkočanetost)
• Maori: uhu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stivhet m or f

• Spanish: agujetas (es) f pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} Stijfheid
• German: ^{(please verify)} Steifheit (de)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} rigiditate, ^{(please verify)} inflexibilitate