Doutefulnesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of being unsure or unconvinced about something ; an archaic sense of fear, apprehension, or dread about what might happen
2. Hesitancy and unsettled judgment about the truth of a matter ; an older meaning referring to a feeling of anxious fear or dread
3. A condition of uncertainty in the mind about what is right ; in older English, a sense of alarm or fearful apprehension

Etymology: Doutefulnesse is a Middle English word, and its story is mostly one of straightforward construction. It combines "doute," meaning doubt or fear, borrowed from Old French "doute" (from Latin "dubitare," to waver or be uncertain), with the Middle English suffix "-nesse," which turns an adjective into a noun of state or quality, much as "-ness" does today. "Doutefulnesse" therefore means the condition of being full of doubt or fear. The word belongs to the Middle English period, when "-nesse" was a productive suffix and writers readily built nouns from adjectives like "doutful" (full of doubt). It was used in the sense of uncertainty, hesitation, or dread. Like many words of its era it fell out of use as later English settled on forms such as "doubtfulness," which is the spelling now standard.

Synonyms: doubt, uncertainty, dubiousness

Antonyms: certainty, confidence