righteousness

righteousness

English

Etymology

From Middle English rightwisnes, from Old English rihtwīsnes (“justice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəsnəs/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

righteousness (countable and uncountable, plural righteousnesses)

1. (uncountable) The quality or state of being righteous.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 45:

     But in these days of fanaticism, that harsh and violent spirit is abroad, when men clothe their own angry passions in the garb of righteousness, and call persecution vindicating the honour of God.

2. (uncountable, theology) Holiness; conformity of life to the divine law.
   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:

     By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.

   Synonyms: rectitude, uprightness, holiness, godliness, equity, justice, rightfulness, integrity, honesty, faithfulness

3. (countable) A righteous act, or righteous quality.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Isaiah 44:6:

     All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.

4. The act or conduct of one who is righteous.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Psalms 106:3:

     Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth rightness at all times.

5. (theology) The state of being right with God; justification; the work of Christ, which is the ground justification.
   • 1594-7, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, A Discourse, Section 21

     There are two kinds of Christian righteousness: the one without us, which we have by imputation; the other in us, which consisteth of faith, hope, and charity, and other Christian virtues.

   • 1646-7, Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q.33

     Only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

Derived terms

• overrighteousness
• self-righteousness
• unrighteousness
• uprighteousness

 

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for righteousness in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

Translations

quality or state of being righteous

Chinese: Mandarin: 公義 (zh), 公义 (zh) (gōngyì) Esperanto: justeco Finnish: vanhurskaus (fi) French: justice (fr) f German: Rechtschaffenheit (de) f, Gerechtigkeit (de) f Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌴𐌹 f (garaihtei) Greek: Ancient: δικαιοσύνη f (dikaiosúnē) Irish: ionracas m, cirte f, fíréantacht f Italian: rettitudine (it) Kazakh: әділдік (ädıldık), әділеттілік (ädılettılık) Mandaic: ࡆࡉࡃࡒࡀ‎ (zidqa) Ngazidja Comorian: uâdilifu class 11 Norwegian: Bokmål: rettferdighet (no) m or f Polish: prawość (pl) f Portuguese: retidão (pt), moralidade (pt) f Russian: справедли́вость (ru) f (spravedlívostʹ) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: пра̀ведно̄ст f Roman: pràvednōst (sh) f Spanish: rectitud (es) f, moralidad (es) f Swedish: rättfärdighet (sv) c Tocharian B: pelaikne

righteous act, or righteous quality

Finnish: vanhurskas teko (act); vanhurskaus (fi) (quality) Portuguese: moralidade (pt) f Spanish: buena obra f; rectitud (es) f

theology: state of being right with God

Finnish: vanhurskaus (fi) Irish: fíréantacht f Polish: prawość (pl) f, czystość (pl) f, świętość (pl) f, łaska (pl) f Russian: пра́ведность (ru) f (právednostʹ), доброде́тельность (ru) f (dobrodételʹnostʹ) Spanish: gracia (es) f, santidad (es) f, beatitud (es) f, pureza (es) f