Docility

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being easily taught, trained, or managed, and willing to obey instructions or accept guidance without resistance
2. The state of being compliant and submissive, characterized by a readiness to be taught, directed, or influenced without resistance
3. A disposition marked by a gentle nature, openness to being educated, and an inclination to follow directions without challenge

Etymology: Docility comes from Latin "docilitas," a noun built from "docilis," meaning "easily taught," which itself grows from "docere," "to teach." The Latin adjective is the more telling piece: a docile person was literally one who could be taught, and the idea of learnability sat at the core of the word long before it came to mean meekness. The root "docere" runs back to a prehistoric verb for showing or teaching, and it is cousin to the Greek "didaskein," which gives us "didactic." English received the word through Middle French "docilité." The suffix "-ilis" marks the adjective "docilis" as capable of something, much as "fertilis" means capable of bearing fruit, and "-itas" turns it into an abstract noun naming that quality. The result is a word that names a state of being receptive to instruction rather than a personality trait, though the sense of gentle obedience grew out of that original emphasis on being teachable.

Synonyms: obedience, compliance, meekness

Antonyms: defiance, rebellion