かわいさ
解説 Definition
かわいらしい、上品な美しさという性質。繊細で魅力的な見た目や容姿の特性を指す。
Prettiness is the quality of being pretty or attractive in a gentle, pleasing way. It is often used for a person's appearance, clothes, flowers, or design. The word sounds lighter and less serious than "beauty."
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
pretty が分かれば覚えやすい語で、形は happy→happiness と同じく「形容詞＋-ness＝その性質」。つまり prettiness は「prettyである感じ」。beauty ほど大げさな美しさではなく、花・服・部屋などの「かわいらしい上品さ」に向きやすい。壮大な美より、小さく感じのよい魅力を表す語として結びつけると残りやすい。
Start with `pretty`, then add `-ness`, like `happy` to `happiness`. That ending means "the quality of being," so `prettiness` is the quality of being pretty. It often feels lighter and softer than `beauty`, so connect it with flowers, clothes, or a nice small room.
例文
The prettiness of her smile made everyone turn and stare.
彼女の笑顔のかわいらしさに、皆が振り向いてじっと見つめた。
She had a natural prettiness that required no makeup.
彼女には化粧しなくても引き立つ自然なかわいらしさがあった。
The young actress's delicate prettiness was her most striking feature.
その若い女優の繊細なかわいらしさは彼女の最も印象的な特徴だった。
prettiness の類義語・関連語
prettiness の語源・成り立ち Etymology
prettiness は pretty「かわいい」に名詞化の接尾辞 -ness が付いた語。pretty は古英語 prættig（ずる賢い、技巧のある）にさかのぼり、「気の利いた」が「感じのよい」へ変化して今の意味になった。関連語は pretty、prettify。
Prettiness comes from pretty with the noun ending -ness. Pretty goes back to Old English praettig, which meant something like "cunning," "tricky," or "cleverly made." Over time, the sense moved from cleverness and neat skill to attractiveness and charm; related words include pretty and prettify.
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