FromMiddle Englishcolnes,colnesse, fromOld Englishcōlnes,cœ̄lnes,cēlnes(“coolness; cool air, breeze”), fromProto-West Germanic*kōlinassī, equivalent tocool +-ness. Cognate withMiddle High Germankuolnisse,küelnisse(“cooling, coolness”).
- IPA(key): /ˈkuːlnəs/
- Hyphenation:cool‧ness
coolness (usuallyuncountable,pluralcoolnesses)
- Moderatechilliness.
1883, Emily Sullivan Oakey, In the Heat., inAt the Foot of Parnassus, page97:I know a place of all sweetcoolnesses; / a little island, like an emerald, set / in the clear argent of a river, that is / Itself a shining net
1917, Margaret Pollock Sherwood, “The Comradship of Trees”, inFamiliar Ways, section III, page135:Surely there is between human kind and trees a kinship immemorial, antedating the fret and fever of the nerves, bringing oldcoolnesses to serve as refuge, making us know the time when spring was no torment, autumn no regret.
- Calmness,confidence, orlevel-headedness.
- (dated, usually countable)Conflict orhostility or an instance of such that stands in contrast to expectedfriendliness orinterest.
1892, James Bowling Mozley, “Archbishop Laud.”, inEssays, Historical and Theological, volume 1, page201:In the midst of enemies, Irish and English, Court treacheries andcoolnesses, Strafford depended solely upon Laud, and no one other support.
1907 September, “Cosy Corner Chats”, inPictorial Comedy: The Humorous Phases of Life Depicted by Eminent Artists., volume XVII, number 6, What Ought to be Done?, page 32 (page 252 in the collected volume), column 1:"These things are certainly very annoying," said Belinda. "I've often experienced similar affairs. But, in my case, no doubt they were explainable. My tongue does run away with me sometimes," she concluded, with an engaging smile. I laughed. Belinda and her friends andcoolnesses were a standing joke.
1949,P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 1, inThe Mating Season, page 5:'Yes, sir. He expressed annoyance at the change of plan. Indeed, I gathered from his remarks, for he was kind enough to confide in me, that there has resulted a certaincoolness between himself and Miss Bassett.' 'Gosh!' I said. […] So, knowing my view regarding this Bassett, M., you will readily understand why this stuff aboutcoolnesses drew a startled 'Gosh!' from me.
- Indifference or an instance of indifference; lack of friendliness or interest not necessarily rising to hostility.
2016, Kathryn Furlong, “ASD and the Goal of Efficiency” (chapter 6), inLeaky Governance: Alternative Service Delivery and the Myth of Water Utility Independence, page123:A regulatory backstop would still be needed, however, because the problem can cut both ways – that is, the utility can also exhibitcoolness toward aspects of water conservation. In Kingston, members of [the] local council felt that they lacked sufficient influence over the utility (a municipal corportation) to advance a conservation agenda. At the same time, utility staff had difficulty harmonizing water rates due to council resistance (see Chapter 4).
- (often slang) Social advantage orenviability, typically due to traits likepopularity,confidence,skill, orfashion.
2014, Susanne Hamscha, “Coolness Has A Number: The 'Americana Cool' ofBeverly Hills, 90210”, in Astrid M. Fellner, Susanne Hamscha, Klaus Heissenberger, Jennifer J* Moos, editors,Is It 'Cause It's Cool? Affective Encounters with American Culture, Americana Cool: The Cool of 90210, page106:When I argue thatBeverly Hills, 90210 makes use of 'An Americana Cool,' then I mean to propose that the show makes use of a wide variety of culturally codifiedcoolness(es) that is/are anchored in a mainstream American symbology, in an Americana of patterned American styles, gestures, and codes.
calmness, confidence, level-headedness
social advantage or enviability
