unkyndenesse
Middle English
Alternative forms
- onkyndnes, unkendnes, unkendenes, unkendenesse, unkindenes, unkindenesse, unkyndenes, unkyndnesse
- unkyndnes, unkyndnese, unkyndness (very late)
- unkundenesse (Warwickshire)
Etymology
From unkynde (“unnatural, undutiful, unkind”) + -nesse (“-ness”) on the model of kyndenesse.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /unˈkiːnd(ə)ˌnɛs(ə)/
- IPA(key): /unˈkyːnd(ə)ˌnɛs(ə)/ (West Midland)
Noun
unkyndenesse (uncountable) (chiefly Late Middle English)
- Disloyalty, undutifulness; an absence of appreciation, gratitude, or loyalty:
- Disloyalty to one's friends, relatives or romantic partner.
- Disobedience to one's ruler or parents.
- Impiety, wickedness; religious disobedience or misbehaviour.
- Coldheartedness, ill will; an absence of empathy or sympathy:
- Unkindness, rudeness; the state of being unkind or impolite or an instance of it.
- (rare) Inconsiderateness, uncharitableness; an absence of consideration.
- An unkindness; a group of ravens.
- Synonym: nonkendenes
Descendants
- English: unkindness
- Middle Scots: unkyndnes, unkindnes
- Scots: unkindness
References
- “unkīndenes(se, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “unkindness, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.