Benignity

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bəˈnɪɡnəti/

Definitions

1. The quality of being kind, gentle, and free from harm or malice
2. The state or characteristic of displaying compassion, gentleness, and absence of harmful intent toward others
3. the quality of being kind, gentle, and disposed favorably toward others without malice

Etymology: Benignity descends from Latin "benignitas," a noun built from "benignus," which was formed from "bene" ("well") and a root related to "gignere" ("to beget, produce"). The Latin sense was roughly "well-born" or "of good nature," so the idea of a generous, productive disposition was present from the start. Medieval French took the word as "benignité," and it reached English in Middle English as "benignite." The English word has kept the sense of kindness, but its close relative "benign" has moved in a more clinical direction. Doctors use "benign" for growths that are not cancerous, and the same Latin ancestry lies behind that medical sense. Benignity itself has stayed with the moral and personal meaning of goodwill toward others, which is why it can describe a ruler's mercy or a neighbour's gentle temper.

Synonyms: kindness, gentleness

Antonyms: malice