Etymologically
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sincerity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 23:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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.