Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

thickness

/ˈθɪknəs/ noun

In Latin: crassitūdō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about thickness at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The dimension through an object as opposed to its length or width.
Indistinct articulation.
judging from the thickness of his speech he had been drinking heavily
Used of a line or mark.

Origin

From Middle English thikkenesse, thiknesse, from Old English þicnes (“thickness, viscosity, density, hardness; obscurity, cloud, darkness; thicket; depth, a thick body, anything thick or heavy”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwīnassī (“thickness”), equivalent to thick + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian tsjokkens (“thickness”), Old High German dickinessī, dikkinissi, diknissi (“thickness, density”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English crassitude (“thickness”) from Latin crassitūdō (“thickness”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word