diaphaneity

[ dih-af-uh-nee-i-tee, dahy-uh-fuh- ]

/ dɪˌæf əˈni ɪ ti, ˌdaɪ ə fə- /

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the quality of being diaphanous; transparency.

QUIZZES

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

1650–60; <Greek diaphanḗ(s) showing through + -ity

What had been leanness in her youth had become transparency in her maturity; and this diaphaneity allowed the angel to be seen.
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo
She was partial to draperies and that, perhaps, created the illusion of diaphaneity.
Painted Veils|James Huneker
Even the best scryers often fail to see anything in the crystal which maintains its natural ‘diaphaneity,’ as Dr. Dee says.
Cock Lane and Common-Sense|Andrew Lang
All sorts of adjectives qualify our thoughts which appear incompatible with consciousness, being as such a bare diaphaneity.
Essays in Radical Empiricism|William James

The diaphaneity of Babet contrasted with the grossness of Gueulemer.
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo