observantnessn.
/əbˈzəːvntnəs/, U.S. /əbˈzərvən(t)nəs/ rare.† 1. Respectfulness. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [noun] > respectful attention
observancec1425
court1590
courtship1597
attendancya1600
observancy1601
observation1605
courting1607
assiduity1641
observantness1727
peculiarity1747
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Observantness, regardfulness, respectfulness.
2. The quality of being observant, attentive, or quick to notice.First recorded in Webster as one of a systematic listing of transparent derivatives (see quot. 1909); it is undefined in all editions of Webster and its original inclusion might perhaps have been influenced by the inclusion in N.E.D. (1902) of sense 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > [noun] > faculty or quality of
seeing eye1579
animadversion1596
observation1605
animadversal1647
observancya1871
observantness1909
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Observantness.
1977 19th-cent. Fiction 32 292 It is David Copperfield.., who makes the simplest, the Wordsworthian argument for the special observantness of a certain kind of person.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1727