ˈspikiness
[f. spiky a.2]
The quality of being spiky or sharp-pointed.
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 141 The spikiness and speariness of the tops. 1865 Examiner 4 Nov. 697/3 A real Christmas fire..reflected itself in the..tiles and the fantastic spikiness of the steel fender. 1962 Listener 3 May 788/3 The curious spikiness of the quartet writing. 1977 D. Bagley Enemy i. 10 Her comments were acute... I found her spikiness of mind very agreeable. 1979 E. H. Gombrich Sense of Order viii. 200 Does it make sense, therefore, to diagnose the spikiness of Gothic shapes by the same standards we might adopt when seeing such spiky forms in a contemporary hand? |