eariness

English

Etymology

From eary +‎ -ness. Compare eeriness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪəɹɪnəs/
• Homophone: eeriness

Noun

eariness (uncountable)

1. Fear or timidity, especially of something supernatural.
   • 1839 September, [Thomas De Quincey], “Sketches of Life and Manners; from the Autobiography of an English Opium-eater.—Continued. Recollections of Grasmere.”, in William Tait, editor, Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume VI, number LXIX, Edinburgh: William Tait […], →OCLC, pages 573–574:

     [T]he eldest sister, little Agnes, though sadly alarmed, and feeling the sensation of eariness as twilight came on, and she looked out from the cottage door to the dreadful fells, […]

Alternative forms

• eiryness (obsolete)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “eariness”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)