Kyndenesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the quality of being kind, generous, and gentle toward others
2. Old spelling of kindness, meaning a gentle and benevolent disposition shown toward other people
3. A medieval English word for warmth of nature, tenderness, and a willingness to help those in need

Etymology: Before "kind" meant gentle or considerate, it meant "nature" or "kind" in the sense of a kind of thing. It comes from Old English "gecynd," meaning natural character or origin, and is related to "cynn," meaning family or race. So a "kyndenesse" was originally a matter of natural disposition, what someone was by birth or nature, before it came to mean the warmth of behaving well toward others. The ending is the Old English suffix "-nes," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state, as in "goodness" or "darkness." The "-esse" spelling was common in Middle English and reflects the word's varied written forms before spelling settled. Modern "kindness" keeps the same structure, minus the final vowel.