Shamefastness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Extreme shyness and reluctance to draw attention to oneself, often stemming from a sense of modesty or embarrassment
2. A bashful, retiring disposition marked by an overwhelming discomfort at being observed or praised
3. The quality of being easily abashed, with a deep-seated modesty that makes one wish to avoid notice

Etymology: "Shamefastness" is built from two English parts that have been changing shape for over a thousand years. The first is "shamefast," an older compound of "shame" and "fast," where "fast" here meant something like "firmly fixed" or "steadfast," so a shamefast person was one rooted in a sense of shame. Old English speakers joined this with the suffix "-ness," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality, producing a word for modesty. The word arrived in Middle English as "schamefastnesse," and the spelling kept shifting until the modern form settled in. Its sense has narrowed over time. What began as a general word for modesty or a sense of propriety became a term for the particular bashfulness of someone who blushes and shrinks from notice.

Synonyms: modesty, bashfulness, shyness, diffidence, timidity

Antonyms: shamelessness, boldness, brazenness