Benignancy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of showing kindness, gentleness, and goodwill toward others ; the condition of being not harmful or noncancerous in nature
2. A characteristic of having a kindly disposition or benevolent attitude ; a medical state where a growth or tumor does not threaten health by spreading
3. The attribute of being benevolent and mild in manner or effect ; a biological or clinical description of a lesion that is not malignant or dangerous

Etymology: Benignancy is a plain formation: the adjective "benign" with the suffix "-ancy" attached, the same ending found in pairs like "constancy" and "vacancy." "Benign" itself comes from Latin "benignus," a blend of "bene" ("well") and a root linked to "gignere" ("to beget"), so the word originally carried the sense of being well-born or well-disposed. The suffix does the work here. "-ancy" turns an adjective into a noun naming the state or quality it describes, so "benignancy" names the condition of being benign. The word is less common than "benignity," which follows the same pattern through a different route, and both are used in the same senses: a gentle manner, or in medicine, a growth that is not cancerous.

Synonyms: kindness, gentleness

Antonyms: malignancy, cruelty