From Middle English gentilnesse; equivalent to gentle + -ness.
- IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛntl̩nəs/
- Hyphenation: gen‧tle‧ness
gentleness (countable and uncountable, plural gentlenesses)
- 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: […] [Comus], 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, […]
being gentle
- Bulgarian: благост (bg) f (blagost), кротост (bg) f (krotost)
- Dutch: minzaamheid (nl)
- Estonian: õrnus
- Faroese: góðska f
- Finnish: hellävaraisuus
- French:
- Old French: dolçor
- Friulian: dolčôr m
- Georgian: სირბილე (sirbile), სიმშვიდე (simšvide), სიწყნარე (sic̣q̇nare), სიკეთე (siḳete)
- German: Sanftmut (de) f
- Gothic: 𐌵𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍂𐌴𐌹 f (qairrei)
- Greek:
- Ancient: πραότης f (praótēs)
- Hiligaynon: kalagday
- Hungarian: gyengédség (hu) f
- Icelandic: blíða (is) f
- Italian: delicatezza (it) f, mansuetudine (it), dolcezza (it), garbo (it) m
- Japanese: 親切 (ja) (しんせつ, shinsetsu), 優 (ja) (ゆう, yū)
- Korean: 친절 (ko) (chinjeol)
- Latin: lēnitās f, lēnitūdō f, indulgentia f, pietās f, clēmentia f
- Old Armenian: զգօնութիւն (zgōnutʻiwn)
- Old Church Slavonic: щедрота f (štedrota)
- Plautdietsch: Jelindichkjeit f
- Polish: łagodność (pl) f, delikatność (pl) f
- Portuguese: gentileza (pt) f
- Romanian: blândețe (ro), gentilețe (ro) f
- Russian: мя́гкость (ru) f (mjáxkostʹ), доброта́ (ru) f (dobrotá)
- Sanskrit: मृदु (sa) n (mṛdu), साधु (sa) n (sādhu)
- Scottish Gaelic: soineanntachd f, sèimhe f, suairceas m
- Sicilian: cori (scn) m
- Spanish: suavidad (es) f, dulzura (es) f
- Zulu: ubumnene (zu)
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