goodness
English
Etymology
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”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡʊdnəs/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
goodness (countable and uncountable, plural goodnesses)
- (uncountable) The state or characteristic of being good.
- (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, King James Version of the Bible, Galatians, 5:22:
- The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Galatians, 5:22:
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
state or characteristic of being good
|
|
euphemistically: God
|
Christianity: moral virtue
|
- 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.
Further reading
- 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
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.