stedfastness

stedfastness

English

Alternative forms

• steadfastness

Etymology

From Middle English stedfastnes, stedfastnesse (“firmness of purpose; fortitude; loyalty, fidelity; strength, boldness, courage”), from Old English stedefæstnes (“constancy”); equivalent to stedfast +‎ -ness.

Noun

stedfastness (uncountable)

1. Obsolete form of steadfastness.
   • 1904, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Chapter II. The Parson's Marjory”, in The Merry Men‎, Reprint edition, Project Gutenberg, published 2007:

     It might be a question whether she was not Will's match in stedfastness, …