Meanness is unwillingness to give, or unkindness of spirit. Sheer meanness, the meanness of it, meanness with money.
The two senses split by country: in Britain meanness is chiefly about money and in America chiefly about cruelty, so the same word carries a different accusation. Context settles it, and misunderstanding is common.
1nounmeannessUnwillingness to give, or unkindness of spirit.
“His meanness was famous; he never once bought a round of drinks.”
meanness is a quality.
Proto-Indo-European
*meyn- — to think
Proto-Germanic
*mainijaną — to mean, think; complain
Proto-West Germanic
*mainijan
Old English
mǣnan — to mean, complain
Middle English
menen — to intend; remember; lament; comfort
English
mean
English, today
meanness
From mean + -ness. mean comes from Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”), from Old English mǣnan (“to mean, complain”), Proto-West Germanic mainijan, from Proto-Germanic mainijaną (“to mean, think; complain”), from Proto-Indo-European meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps from Proto-Indo-European meyno-, extended form of Proto-Indo-European mey-. Germanic cognates include West Frisian miene (“to deem, think”) (Old Frisian mēna (“to signify”)), Dutch menen (“to believe, think, mean”) (Middle Dutch menen (“to think, intend”)), German meinen (“to think, mean, believe”), Old Saxon mēnian. Indo-European cognates include Old Irish mían (“wish, desire”) and Polish mienić (“to signify, believe”). Non-Indo-European cognates include Finnish mainita (“to mention”), Finnish meinata (“to mean, to plan, to intend”) Estonian mainima (“to mention”), se máinnastit (“to tell”). Related to moan.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA