Meaning of the term 'glossiness' = sharpness or softness

[^Lele^]

Seriously, GWK (Well, wikipedia, in the specific case).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_reflection

Specular reflection is distinct from diffuse reflection, where incoming light is reflected in a broad range of directions. An example of the distinction between specular and diffuse reflection would be glossy and mattepaints. Matte paints have almost exclusively diffuse reflection, while glossy paints have both specular and diffuse reflection. A surface built from a non-absorbing powder, such as plaster, can be a nearly perfect diffuser, whereas polished metallic objects can specularly reflect light very efficiently. The reflecting material of mirrors is usually aluminum or silver.

[MoonDoggie]

I thought I was the only one who this confused as well for the aforementioned reasons. I'm with Cubicle, but I always have to pause when I'm explaining a material.

[Dave_Wortley]

In my experience, non-CG people call Glossy things around 0.5-0.75 Glossiness, more glossy equals lower values, they call Matte anything which is below 0.5 where reflection is basically lost and anything above 0.75 has a 'gloss sheen' a wonderful word that has no real meaning!