nugacity

[ noo-gas-i-tee, nyoo- ]
/ nuˈgæs ɪ ti, nyu- /

noun, plural nu·gac·i·ties for 2.

triviality; insignificance.
something insignificant or inconsequential; a trifle.

Origin of nugacity

1585–95; < Late Latin nūgācitās, equivalent to nūgāc- (see nugacious) + -itās -ity

VOCAB BUILDER

What does nugacity mean?

A nugacity is something trivial or unimportant. Nugacity can also mean the quality of being trivial or unimportant.

Nugacity is obscure and rarely used. It is related to the adjectives nugacious and nugatory, both of which mean “trivial” or “unimportant.”

Example: Many biology majors feel like the one required art class is a nugacity that doesn’t add to their education.

Where does nugacity come from?

The first record of nugacity in the English language comes from the mid-1500s. Its first known use is from the poem “The Fall and Evil Success of Rebellion” by English poet Wilfred Holme. Nugacity comes from the Latin word nūgācitās, meaning “worthlessness” or “frivolity.”

Nugacity was most used between the 1600s and 1800s to describe unimportant texts, political policies, or parts of everyday life. Notable uses include those by English Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (in his literary criticism) and English philosopher Henry More.

Today, it is quite obscure but is still occasionally used in both of its senses.

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What are some synonyms for nugacity?

What are some words that share a root or word element with nugacity?

 

How is nugacity used in real life?

Ironically, most people learn the word nugacity as a bit of trivia.

 

 

Try using nugacity!

Is nugacity used correctly in the following sentence?

The nugacity of these meetings is obvious—we’ve already covered everything in an email.