Middle English Dictionary Entry

whītnes(se n.
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Entry Info

Forms whītnes(se n.
Etymology From OE hwītness & ME whīt adj.

Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)

1.
(a) The quality of whiteness; the condition of being white; the color white, a white color; also, an off-white or whitish color, the white or whitish color (of teeth, hair, a bodily fluid, morbid bodily tissue, etc.); donish ~, a dull whiteness; (b) fig. moral or spiritual whiteness, purity, freedom from the stain of sin; (c) alch.?a silver or silvery color; ?the substance of silver; (d) a lack of discoloration, colorlessness.
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2.
(a) Anat. ~ cristalline, cristalline ~, the crystalline lens of the eye; (b) pathol. the white scale (on the scalp resulting from a skin disease).
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3.
(a) Fairness of complexion, a natural whiteness or paleness of the skin; (b) an unhealthy or unnatural pallor, excessive paleness; the condition of being abnormally pale or ashen-faced.
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4.
Radiance, brightness, brilliance.
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5.
The word ‘whitnesse’.
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Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc., see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. whiteness.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Med., etc. (sense 2.(a)), see further J.Norri, Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary, s.v. crystalline whiteness.

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