[ad. L. concinnitās, -tāt-em, f. concinn-us: see CONCINNE a. and -ITY.]
1. Skillful and harmonious adaptation or fitting together of parts; harmony, congruity, consistency.
1531. Elyot, Gov., I. xx. In euery of the said daunsis, there was a concinnitie of meuing the foote and body.
1621. Donne, Serm., cxvii. V. 56. This world a frame of so much harmony, so much concinnity and conveniency.
1668. Howe, Bless. Righteous, Wks. (1834), 252. Mere confusion, without the least concinnity or order.
1675. Sir E. Sherburne, Transl. Manilius, Preface, 7. Reasons … grounded upon the Concinnity of Time and Conformity of Study.
1835. Kirby, Hab. & Inst. Anim. (1852), II. 303. For the sake of concinnity of nomenclature.
b. (with pl.) A harmony, a congruity. † Mus. An imperfect concord: cf. concinnous discord.
1640. G. Watts, trans. Bacon’s Adv. Learn., 317. What man despiseth not those that hunt after these deformities and concinnities.
1663. Petty, in Rigaud, Corr. Sci. Men (1841), I. 103. I desire you to ask Lord Brounker … whether there be any thing in it but conjectures and concinnities.
1761. Twining, Recr. & Studies (1882), 17. Concords, and discords, and concinnities or imperfect concords.
2. Beauty of style produced by a skillful connection of words and clauses; hence, more generally, studied beauty, elegance, neatness of literary or artistic style, etc.
1577. Peacham, Gard. Eloquence, 1 (T.). Cicero, who supposed figures to be named of the Grecians schemates, called them concinnitie … comprising all ornaments of speech under one name.
1697. J. Serjeant, Solid Philos., 299. Art is to polish our Notions, and bring them to Exactness and Concinnity.
1769. Swinton, in Phil. Trans., LX. 83, note. The Sicilians … excelled … in the elaborate concinnity of their money.
1865. Stopf. Brooke, Life Robertson, I. 187. The clearness and concinnity of the thought and its illustration.
1878. Dowden, Stud. Lit., 183. As great a master as Addison of concinnity in the playful.
1881. Blackie, Lay Serm., vi. 198. The graceful concinnity of Livy.
1886. G. Allen, Maimie’s Sake, xxiii. There was a neatness and concinnity about the way it worked that charmed her.
b. with pl. A studied beauty or elegance.
1866. Motley, Dutch Rep., II. iii. 183. A discourse … not likely, with all its concinnities … to exert a soothing influence upon the people.
