mercenarinessn.
/ˈməːs(ᵻ)n(ə)rɪnᵻs/, /ˈməːsn̩(ə)rɪnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈmərsənˌɛrinᵻs/, /ˈmərsnˌɛrinᵻs/ The quality of being mercenary.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > mercenariness
mercenarinessa1624
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > [noun] > one who labours solely for profit > quality of being
mercenarinessa1624
a1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 94 Who can impeach or blemish Gods bounty and liberality, with the least note of mercinarinesse.
1704 Earl of Shaftesbury Let. 23 Aug. in B. Rand Life Earl of Shaftesbury (1900) 347 Throwing aside selfishness, mercenariness, and such servile thoughts as unfit us even for this world.
1752 H. Walpole Let. 27 July in Lett. to H. Mann (1833) III. 15 To have one's favourite author convicted of mere mortal mercenariness!
1808 C. Lamb Let. 26 Feb. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 271 Mary is very thankful..; and with the less suspicion of mercenariness, as the silk..has not yet appeared.
1883 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 323 The mercenariness of the officials is the only guarantee against oppression.
1926 Jrnl. Negro Hist. 11 576 The efforts resulted in unseemly rivalries between agents from different States and the offering of bounties to such an extent as to subject that branch of recruiting to the justifiable charge of mercenariness.
1991 Jrnl. Politics 53 939 The Reasonableness, moreover, refashions Christianity into not only a support but a justification for a mercenary morality by presenting Jesus himself as an exemplar of mercenariness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1624