archness

American  

[ahrch-nis] / ˈɑrtʃ nɪs /

noun

1. roguishness; sauciness.

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Etymology

Origin of archness

First recorded in 1700–10; arch ² + -ness

Explanation

Archness is a quality of being cheeky or playful in a way that's almost rude. If your philosophy professor cracks a lot of jokes during her lecture on ethics, you might comment on her archness. If you like romance novels simply to make fun of their silly plots and overblown characters, your archness might offend a friend who actually enjoys the books. When you're arch, you tease in a fake or exaggerated way. The noun archness comes from arch, which meant "chief or principal" in the 1500s but grew by the mid-seventeenth century to have a more derogatory meaning after being a familiar prefix for words like rogue and knave.

Example Sentences

Fukuhara’s extra beats between lines, slow-forming, knowing smiles, and general get-me-away-from-these-philistines archness rescue mediocre jokes before her quick bursts of ebullience remind us that Nancy would rather make over her wardrobe-challenged classmates than mock them.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2023

Now, they are buzzing with memes, videos and messages of congratulation, but also a strain of sceptical archness.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2022

Larsen’s feelings about Irene are embedded in her narrative choices and in her chilled reserve, in the archness of her tone and in winding sentences that seem fairly benign until the final telling clause.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2021

All the chapter titles end in “y,” adding to a general mood of effervescent archness.

From Washington Post • Oct. 25, 2021

“Well,” Lenina enquired, with significant archness when they met next afternoon on the roof, “did you think it was fun yesterday?”

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley