sadnessn.
/ˈsadnəs/, U.S. /ˈsædnəs/ The condition or quality of being sad (in various senses).
I. Satiety, fullness; seriousness, steadfastness.† 1. Satiety, weariness. Obsolete.† 2. Gravity of mind or demeanour; seriousness, soberness, staidness. Obsolete (but cf. in (good, sober, serious) sadness at Phrases).† 3. Steadfastness, constancy; firmness of faith. Obsolete. † 5. Dignity, importance. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > caused by a surfeit or excess
sadnessOE
satiety1533
surfeita1591
glut1594
satiation1609
cloymenta1616
cloyedness1626
satedness1826
OE Prudentius Glosses (Boulogne 189) in H. D. Meritt Old Eng. Prudentius Glosses (1959) 23 Usque ad congeriem : congestionem, nauseam, satietatem : oþ sædnysse.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [noun]
earnestOE
sadnessc1350
serious1440
seriouste1440
demurity1483
seriosity?a1505
gravity1509
demureness?1518
seriousness1530
solemness1530
sobriety1548
staidness1561
graveness1577
gravidad1641
earnestness1670
substantialness1683
solemnity1712
smilelessness1844
unsmilingness1873
humourlessness1890
straightfacedness1982
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 51 (MED) For ȝeres Ne makeþ so nauȝt þane prest ald, Ac sadnesse of maneres.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (1978) l. 1590 Another stant so in the peples grace For hire sadnesse and hire benygnytee.
c1412 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 1442 Hem hoghte to be mirours of sadnesse, And wayue iolitee and wantonnesse.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 20 A bord on whech þei vsed to pleye certeyn games to refresch with þe sadnesse of her study.
1495 in N. Riding Rec. (1894) New Ser. I. 127 We trustyng in youre pollicie sadnes wisdome and discrecion.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. C.ij They banysshed prayer peas and sadnes And toke with them myrthe sporte and gladnes.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iii. ii. 77 But mightie Lord this merrie inclination Agrees not with the sadnesse of my sute.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xix. 711/2 Other persons of approued sadnesse, prudence, policy, & experience.
1647 T. Fuller Cause Wounded Conscience xv. 112 It being just, that the sweetnesse of his corporall pleasure, should be sauced with more spirituall sadnesse.
1725 Ess. on Gibing 13 The Chair of Humour must be deserted..and Possession resigned to the fell Enemies of Mirth, and Gaiety, sober Sadness, and stupid Gravity.
1797 R. Heron tr. D. J. Garat Mem. Revol. 173 He related facts without signifying either approbation or blame, with solemn sadness and gravity of manner.
1853 W. M. Thackeray in Times 23 Nov. 9 From the sadness and gravity with which your correspondent quotes certain of my words, it is evident that he..thinks they have a..malicious meaning.
1869 R. B. Peacock Gloss. Dial. Hundred of Lonsdale Sadness, gravity, seriousness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [noun]
steadfastnessa1000
anrednessOE
stead-stathelfastness?c1225
stability13..
steadfastshipc1320
traistnessa1340
constance1340
sadnessc1384
unmovablenessc1384
hardnessa1400
steadfastheadc1400
unmobletya1425
firmitya1450
constancy1526
constantness1530
firmitude?1541
firmness1553
stoutness1561
settledness1571
cleaving1580
solidity1607
immovableness1617
staunchness1623
fixedness1626
fixationa1631
unswayednessa1656
steadiness1663
sturdiness1675
unbendingness1824
indomitability1851
indomitableness1860
thick and thin1884
fixity1885
unshakability1907
society > faith > aspects of faith > [noun] > steadfastness
sadnessc1384
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. vi. 17 God willinge for to schewe..the vnmouablenesse, or sadnesse, of his conseil.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) 2 Pet. iii. 17 Lest ȝe..falle awey fro ȝoure owne sadnesse [L. a propria firmitate].
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Coloss. ii. 5 The sadnesse of that ȝoure bileue that is in Crist.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vii. 150 Catoun and canonistres conceilleth vs to leue To sette sadnesse in songewarie for, sompnia ne cures.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 11177 But yiff he hadde ffeet off led In gret sadnesse to endure.
?1528 J. Skelton Dyuers Balettys & Dyties xiii Saphyre of sadnes enuayned wyth Indy blew.
a1555 H. Latimer Frutefull Serm. (1572) ii. f. 166 S. Paul aduertised all women to geue a good example of sadnes, sobernes, and godlynes.
4. Firmness, hardness, solidity. Now rare. (English regional in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > types of hardness > [noun] > firmness
stathelnessOE
sadnessa1398
firmitude?1541
firmness1653
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xvii. 110 Þe fifte is sadnes and þicnes of þe þing þat is seen [L. soliditas sive densitas rei visæ].
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 90 Þou schalt knowe by reednes & sadnesse of fleisch þat is wiþinne þe festre al aboute.
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) vi. 152 When hit [sc. cheese] is wel confourmed to sadnesse.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 106v Sadnes [1483 BL Add. 89074 a Sadnes], solidamen.
a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 33 Thow art Peter, scilicet, sadde as stone; therfore vpon thy sadnes I shall bylde my chirche.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I If you respect the sadnesse thereof, it doth prooue in the ende to be very hollow and not able to holde out water.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Which mouldes, wanting their due sadnesse, are nowe turned into moory plots.
1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) Sadness, heaviness, solidity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [noun]
worshipeOE
worthOE
dignity?c1225
worthsc1225
mund?c1250
pricea1325
worthfulheada1325
valourc1330
dignesse1399
value?a1400
honesty1418
worthiheadc1425
honourabilityc1426
worthihood?1457
sadnessa1513
honourableness1553
respect1567
worshipfulty1589
ingenuity1598
creditableness1647
honorificabilitudinity1656
worshipfulness1663
reputability1792
creditability1805
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clix. f. lxxxvii v The sayd Lewys..causyd them to vse, and were browne, and sad colours, accordynge to theyr Honours and sadnes.
6. Gloomy appearance; dark or sombre hue. Now rare.In later use interpreted as deriving from sense 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > [noun]
thicknessc1000
dusknessa1382
umbraclec1500
duskishness1541
sadness1601
duskiness1611
gloominess1611
opacity1611
gloom1645
shadowinessa1672
dusk1700
brown1729
gloaming1832
bat-light1871
dreich1928
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxv. x. 541 The same gaue a secret deeping and sadnesse to those colours which were too gay and gallant.
1614 N. Downton Let. 20 Nov. in W. Foster Lett. received by E. India Co. (1897) ii. 171 It is in vain to show them..all your musk colours and sand colours and all others inclining to sadness.
1664 N. Highmore Let. Apr. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 273 They [sc. dyers] make use of vitrioll..which..gives a sadness to the coloure.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. iii. 76 The architect, not being able to secure always the same depth or decision of shadow, nor to add to its sadness by colour.
1883 Harper's Mag. Apr. 771/2 Their neighbors' costumes, which..tended rather to sadness of hue and quaintness of design.
1938 Times 26 Apr. 14 The most marked general effect in this exhibition is of sadness of colour—wan rather than delicate.
II. Senses relating to sorrow.
7.
a. Sorrow, mournfulness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > [noun] > state or condition of
drearinessa1000
woeOE
sorrinessOE
sorrowfulnessa1250
heavinessc1275
sorrownessc1300
dreariheada1325
moanc1390
sadnessc1400
grievedness1571
ruthfulness1596
mournfulness1633
waila1682
drearihood1817
woebegoneness1841
tristfulness1847
c1400 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx De Institutione Inclusarum (Vernon) (1984) 55 Deeþ put awey heuynesse of þys lyf, and makeþ an ende of saadnesse of þis wordle.
a1500 Wisdom of Solomon (Cambr. Kk.1.5) in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 186 It is bettir to cum to the hous off ernyst na to the hous of blythnes, and to the hous of sadnes na to the hous of Ioy.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 61 Seik to solace quhen saidnes the assalis.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. ii. 7 How canst thou part sadnes and melancholy, my tender Iuuenall? View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Ecclus. vii. 3 By the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 23 Dim sadness did not spare That time Celestial visages. View more context for this quotation
1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 409 In a malignant Fever from Heat, there is a Delirium, Fluxes, Sadness.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 464 Thy clime..disposes much All hearts to sadness.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vii. 142 Sadness on the soul of Ida fell.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross George Eliot's Life (1885) III. 297 I am never in that mood of sadness which used to be my frequent visitant.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 25 Sept. (1995) 197 They were overburdened with sadness and nostalgic regret.
1985 R. Cobb Classical Educ. xi. 153 The death of his brother John at sixty had filled him with sadness and a sense of loss.
2007 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 4 Mar. 40 A group of grammar-school boys are hot-housed for Oxbridge, and the journey is, by turns, comical, tender and tinged with sadness.
b. As a count noun: a condition, quality, or instance of sorrow.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun]
unlustOE
sorrowfulnessa1250
heavinessc1275
elengenessec1320
dullnessc1369
tristourc1380
murknessc1390
tristesse1390
faintness1398
ungladnessa1400
droopingc1400
heavity14..
dejectionc1450
terne?a1513
disconsolation1515
descence1526
marea1529
sadness?1537
dumpishness1548
unblessedness1549
dolorousness1553
ruefulness?1574
dolefulness1586
heartlessness1591
languishment1591
mopishness1598
soul-sickness1603
contristation1605
damp1606
gloominess1607
sableness1607
uncheerfulnessa1617
disconsolateness1624
cheerlessnessa1631
dejectedness1633
droopingness1635
disanimation1637
lowness1639
desponsion1641
disconsolacy1646
despondency1653
dispiritedness1654
chagrin1656
demission1656
jawfall1660
weightedness1660
depression1665
disconsolancy1665
grumness1675
despondence1676
despond1678
disheartenednessa1680
glumness1727
low1727
gloom1744
low-spiritedness1754
blue devils1756
black dog1776
humdudgeon1785
blue devilism1787
dispiritude1797
wishtnessc1800
downheartedness1801
blue-devilage1816
dispiritment1827
downcastness1827
depressiveness1832
dolorosity1835
lugubriosity1840
disconsolance1847
down1856
heavy-heartedness1860
lugubriousness1879
sullenness1885
low key1886
melancholia1896
burn-out1903
mokus1924
downness1927
mopiness1927
deflation1933
wallow1934
?1537 Hugh of Caumpedene tr. Hist. Kyng Boccus sig. E.iiiv The herte quyckly hath relesse Of iolynyte and fallyth thore In a sadnes as it was before.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 148 He straitway grew into a melancholy..Then into a sadnesse.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1962) X. 51 To blow away and scatter these sadnesses, with a false, an illusory, and a sinfull comfort.
1737 L. Clarke Compl. Hist. Bible II. v. 96 After this he thunders out Woes and Sadnesses against their Impieties.
1769 B. Alexander tr. G. B. Morgagni Seats & Causes Dis. I. xv. 361 Griefs, anxieties, sadnesses..happen to us, from no other part than the brain.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I lxxii. 39 She look'd a sadness sweeter than her smile.
1865 R. Buchanan Sutherland's Pansies v There grew a..sadness in his tone When he was gladdest.
1873 T. Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes II. i. 3 She could slough off a sadness and replace it by a hope.
1945 N. Streatfeild Saplings xxxi. 139 She felt a sadness that was like a lethargy after an illness.
1989 New Yorker 23 Oct. 45/2 It's one of my sadnesses that Frank became too ill to visit us.
2005 Fairlady (Cape Town) Feb. 36/1 One senses both a sadness and a bitterness when Omotoso speaks of Nigeria.
Phrases
in (good, sober, serious) sadness: in earnest, seriously.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [adverb]
highlyOE
deeplyc1300
solemnlya1325
sadlya1375
soberly1382
demurelyc1400
sadc1400
seriouslyc1425
solemnya1470
murely1474
solemnedlyc1480
solenny1480
in (good, sober, serious) sadness1545
gravely1553
staidly1571
solemniouslya1578
solidly1632
in sad earnest1637
ponderously1637
in jest-earnest1642
in all seriousness1679
joking apart1745
unhumorously1768
solidly1799
in sober earnest1836
mirthlessly1853
votively1857
smilelessly1869
unmirthfully1872
unsmilingly1879
inhumorously1898
soberingly1923
straightfacedly1977
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 48v But in good sadnesse Toxophile thus you se.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iv. iii. sig. F.iij I haue nought to them, nor they to me in sadnesse.
1593 T. Nashe Strange Newes in Wks. (Grosart) II. 245 Thou hast borrowed aboue twenty phrases and epithites from mee, which in sober sadnesse thou makst vse of as thy owne.
a1627 T. Middleton et al. Widdow (1652) v. i. 59 Pray, in sadness say; What is the Gentleman?
1696 S. Sewall Diary 13 Oct. (1973) I. 357 Seem'd to be in good sober sadness.
1705 J. Vanbrugh Confederacy iii. ii In serious sadness.
1809 Ld. Byron Let. 16 July (1973) I. 215 But, in sober sadness, any thing is better than England.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. ix. 182 But, prithee, tell me in sadness, dost thou discover any thing..which may argue any suspicion of ill usage?
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire 323 ‘Ah towd him i' good sadn'ss’ = in downright earnest.
1929 Musical Q. 15 565 But, in sober sadness, a tango born of the exotic folk-spirit deserves equal praise with any folk-song of Brittany.
1950 ‘P. Woodruff’ Island of Chamba x. 159 I will go quietly home. And I tell you Charles, in sober sadness, I am thankful to God I have no life to lose but my own.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.OE