goodness
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English goodnesse, godnesse, from Old English gōdnes (“goodness; virtue; kindness”), equivalent to good + -ness. Cognate with Old High German gōtnassī, cōtnassī (“goodness”), Middle High German guotnisse (“goodness”), Russian годность (godnostʹ, “suitability, fitness”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
goodness (countable and uncountable, plural goodnesses)
- (uncountable) The state or characteristic of being good.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i], page 83, column 2:
- There is ſome ſoule of goodneſſe in things euill, / VVould men obſeruingly 'diſtill it out.
- (countable) The good, nutritional, healthy part or content of something.
- (uncountable, euphemistic) God.
- Thank goodness that the war is over!
- (Christianity) The moral qualities which constitute Christian excellence; moral virtue.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Galatians 5:22–23, column 2:
- But the fruit of the ſpirit is loue, ioy, peace, long ſuffering, gentleneſſe, goodneſſe, faith, / Meekeneſſe, temperance: againſt ſuch there is no law.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
state or characteristic of being good
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good part or content of something
euphemistically: God
Christianity: moral virtue
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Further readingEdit
- “goodness” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- “goodness” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- goodness at OneLook Dictionary Search