Unholinesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being morally or spiritually impure
2. The condition of lacking sanctity or divine favor
3. Actions or attributes that exhibit wickedness or profane behavior

Etymology: "Unholinesses" is the plural of "unholiness," a noun formed from the adjective "unholy" with the suffix "-ness." The plural form is an inflection of that noun, so its history is essentially the history of its parts. "Unholy" itself combines the prefix "un-," meaning "not," with "holy," and the suffix "-ness" turns the adjective into a noun for a state or quality. The suffix has the longer story. "-Ness" descends from Old English "-nes," a native Germanic element used to form abstract nouns from adjectives, so the ending is inherited from the earliest English rather than borrowed from Latin or French. Its ancestors reach back to Proto-Germanic, which makes "unholiness" an entirely Germanic construction in its structure, built on a native suffix that English has used for over a thousand years.