gentleness

noun

Etymology: From Middle English gentilnesse; equivalent to gentle + -ness.

1. The state of being gentle.

   “[S]he [Sabrina, a water nymph] reviv'd, / And undervvent a quicke, immortall change / Made goddeſſe of the river; ſtill ſhe retaines / Her maiden gentleneſſe, […]”

   “Willie spends his bus money home playing a song to dance to on the jukebox in an effort to comfort Sam, and unlike Hally, who struck out at his old friend when his life began to go wrong, Sam does not pass down Hally's hatefulness, but instead treats Willie with the same gentleness he has shown toward him throughout the play.”