gentleness

From Middle English gentilnesse; equivalent to gentle +‎ -ness.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩nəs/
• Hyphenation: gen‧tle‧ness

gentleness (countable and uncountable, plural gentlenesses)

1. The state of being gentle.

   Synonyms: douceur, sweetness

   • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC, page 29:

     [S]he [Sabrina, a water nymph] reviv'd, / And undervvent a quicke, immortall change / Made goddeſſe of the river; ſtill ſhe retaines / Her maiden gentleneſſe, […]