childlikenessn.
/ˈtʃʌɪl(d)lʌɪknᵻs/, U.S. /ˈtʃaɪl(d)ˌlaɪknᵻs/ The quality of being childlike.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [noun] > quality of
childhoodlOE
childheada1325
childishness1526
childlikeness1744
bread-and-butterishness1843
childlinessa1846
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [noun] > childlikeness
childlikeness1744
childlinessa1846
1744 tr. F. de S. de la Mothe-Fénelon Medit. & Soliloquies 32 The inward Strivings of thy Spirit, which urge him strongly to Resignation, to a Child-likeness and Death to Self.
1748 Coll. Hymns from Hymn-bk. Moravian Brethren: Pt. III 20/2 Child-likeness, Diligence, A faithful, humbled Breast.
1814 H. C. Robinson Diary I. xvii. 432 Schiller says all great men have a childlikeness in their nature.
1871 F. W. Farrar Witness of Hist. ii. 62 The humility and childlikeness demanded by Christianity.
1921 F. Dell Briary-bush i. v. 43 Felix, watching these scenes, wished that he, too, had that capacity for childlikeness, so that he could join in the fun on such terms of innocent intimacy.
1991 Sun (Baltimore) 13 Aug. c1/2 Do you pitch your voice high? High tones suggest non-assertiveness, even childlikeness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1744