goodness

English

Etymology

From Middle English goodnesse, godnesse, from Old English gōdnes (“goodness; virtue; kindness”), equivalent to good +‎ -ness. Cognate with Old High German gōtnassī, cōtnassī (“goodness”), Middle High German guotnisse (“goodness”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡʊdnəs/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

goodness (countable and uncountable, plural goodnesses)

  1. (uncountable) The state or characteristic of being good.
  2. (countable) The good, nutritional, healthy part or content of something.
  3. (uncountable, euphemistic) God.
    Thank goodness that the war is over!
  4. (Christianity) The moral qualities which constitute Christian excellence; moral virtue.

Synonyms

  • See Thesaurus:goodness

Derived terms

Translations

good part or content of something
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Further reading

  • goodness in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • goodness in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • goodness at OneLook Dictionary Search
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