Unstedefastnesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being unsteady, unreliable or wavering in one's loyalty, purpose or resolve
2. A state of inconstancy in which a person or thing fails to remain firm, faithful or fixed
3. Wavering or changeable conduct, showing an absence of firmness in belief, commitment or position

Etymology: Its meaning rests on a word for "place." Old English "stede" meant "place" or "position," and it survives in "instead" (literally "in the place of") and "bedstead," the frame that holds the bed. "Stedefast" combined that sense with "fast," meaning "fixed," so a steadfast thing was literally fixed in its place. Adding the prefix "un-" and the noun suffix "-nesse," the Middle English noun meant the opposite: a lack of firmness, constancy, or stability. Middle English writers used it in the older sense of physical or moral instability, and its exact dating and first attestation are uncertain to me, so I would not name a specific author or century with confidence. What is clear is that the modern "steadfast" kept its moral sense of loyalty and resolve, while this longer form dropped out of use. Its surviving parts still show the original meaning of "place."

Synonyms: instability, fickleness, inconstancy

Antonyms: steadfastness, constancy