Benignness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state or quality of being harmless, gentle, and kind in nature
2. Having a disposition that is mild, not causing harm, and showing kindness
3. Characterized by a gentle, non-threatening, and benevolent nature

Etymology: Benignness is a plain formation: the adjective "benign" with the suffix "-ness" added, which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. The adjective itself came into English from Latin "benignus," a word made from "bene," meaning "well," and a root related to "genus," birth or kind, so the sense is roughly "well-born" or "of good disposition." That root gives the whole family its warmth: a benign person was originally one of good nature before the word came to describe gentle medical conditions. The suffix has a much longer English pedigree than the Latin root. "-ness" descends from Old English "-nes," and the same ending has been attached to native adjectives like "good," "kind," and "happy" for over a thousand years. Attaching it to a borrowed Latin adjective is therefore an ordinary English habit, which is why "benignness" sounds natural even though its first half is foreign.

Synonyms: gentleness, kindness, mildness

Antonyms: malignity, harshness