sincerity

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɪnˈsɛɹɪti/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sincerite,^[2] from Old French sinceritie^[2][3] and directly borrowed from Latin sinceritās (“purity, soundness, wholeness”),^[2][4][3] from sincērus (“whole, clean; sound, genuine, pure”) (see sincere).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Honesty, genuineness (early 15th century in Etymonline; 15th century in Merriam-Webster).^[2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word meant purity or soundness,^[2] and in 16th-century English sincerity could mean freedom from adulteration or falsification, purity, correctness (1546–1653, now obsolete).^[7][8] The sense of freedom from deceit or duplicity, honesty, straightforwardness is recorded from 1557,^[7][8] and the genuineness of feelings from 1611.^[7][8] Johnson (1755) gives “honesty of intention; purity of mind” and “freedom from hypocrisy”.^[9] The plural, sincere feelings or actions, dates from 1840.^[7][4]

Timeline

• early 15th century – honesty, genuineness (Etymonline).^[2]
• 1546 – purity, freedom from adulteration (obsolete).^[7][8]
• 1557 – freedom from deceit; honesty.^[7][8]
• 1611 – genuineness of feelings.^[7][8]
• 1840 – in the plural, sincere feelings or acts.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The quality of being sincere; genuineness and honesty, freedom from duplicity or hypocrisy.
2. A sincere feeling, or an expression of one (often plural).

Word family

• supersincerity

Related words

• sincere
• candor
• honesty

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.