raylessness

raylessness

English

Etymology

From rayless +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeɪləsnəs/

Noun

raylessness (uncountable)

1. (poetic) Utter darkness, without any ray of light.
   • 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Premature Burial’:

     I knew that I had now fully recovered the use of my visual faculties—and yet it was dark—all dark—the intense and utter raylessness of the Night that endureth for evermore.

2. (botany) The condition of being rayless