Righteousness

How to spell righteousness

13 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce righteousness

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does righteousness mean?

1. nounThe quality of being morally right, just, or virtuous in conduct.

Righteousness in a sentence

• The charity built its reputation on a quiet righteousness rather than loud publicity.

• Critics accused the columnist of a smug righteousness that lectured readers without listening.

Where does righteousness come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word descends from the Old English rihtwīs, a compound of riht meaning 'right, just, straight' and wīs meaning 'wise' or 'manner of being', so the original sense was literally 'right in conduct' or 'living in the right way'. The matching noun rihtwīsnes already existed in Old English to name the quality of being upright and just. Over the centuries the spelling drifted: the second element wīs was no longer recognised as the word 'wise', and writers reshaped the ending to look like the common -eous adjective pattern seen in words such as courteous and bounteous. This is exactly why the modern spelling hides a tricky '-teous' in the middle rather than the '-tious' or '-tuous' shapes that sound similar. The word has carried strong moral and religious weight since the Middle Ages, often translating Latin iustitia in early English Bibles, which kept it in steady use and locked in its formal tone.

How the word is built

• right (just, correct)
• -eous (adjective suffix, from Old English -wīs 'wise, manner')
• -ness (state or quality)