Confidentialness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic of being private or secret is crucial for maintaining the security of sensitive data
2. A state where information is restricted from access ensures that privacy is upheld and protected from unauthorized individuals
3. The state of information being kept secret to protect privacy and prevent disclosure

Etymology: The noun "confidentialness" is about as plain as English word-building gets: the adjective "confidential" with the suffix "-ness" attached, the same suffix that turns "kind" into "kindness" or "dark" into "darkness." The adjective itself came into English by way of French. The French "confidentiel" was formed from the Latin "confidentia," meaning trust or assurance, which in turn comes from "confidens," "confiding," the root of "confide." That adjective was adopted in English as a calque of the French, meaning that English took the idea and rebuilt it from its own parts rather than borrowing the whole word unchanged. From there, "confidential" came to describe matters entrusted to someone in private, and "confidentialness" follows naturally as the name for the quality of being kept that way.

Synonyms: secrecy, privacy, trustworthiness

Antonyms: openness, publicness