Wiseness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of having sound judgment, deep insight, and the ability to apply knowledge well in practical situations
2. The capacity to understand what is truly important and to make good decisions based on experience and reflection
3. The characteristic of possessing good sense, thoughtful discernment, and the ability to act with foresight and understanding

Etymology: "Wiseness" is a plain formation: the adjective "wise" with the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality, much as "kindness" comes from "kind". Its ancestor in Old English, "wīsnes", originally carried a slightly different sense from the one it has now. It meant "teaching" or "wisdom" in the sense of learned instruction, so the word was tied as much to knowledge passed on as to a personal quality of good judgment. Over the Middle English period the form became "wisnesse," and the word gradually settled into the modern sense of being wise, or possessing sound judgment. The suffix itself has been productive in English since Old English, so the formation is ordinary, and the interest lies mainly in the older sense of teaching that the word once carried.

Synonyms: wisdom, sagacity, prudence

Antonyms: foolishness, stupidity