bestnessn.

1548 Shorte Introd. Gram. (new ed.) To Rdr. sig. a.ii There is but one bestnesse, not onely in euery thyng, but also in the maner of euery thyng.

1557 J. Cheke Let. in R. Ascham Scholemaster (1870) Introd. 5 I am verie curious in mi freendes matters, not to determijn, but to debaat what is best. Whearin, I seek not the bestnes haplie bi truth.

a1659 Bp. T. Morton Ἐπισκοπος Ἀποστολικος (1670) i. 11 Generally the bestness of a thing (that we may so call it) is best discerned by the Necessary Use.

1820 J. Wilson in Mem. C. North ix. 327 We are now speaking not on the question of bestness, but as to fact.

1852 T. Carlyle in Keepsake 90 Aristocracy so-called, or Best of the World, beware, beware what proofs you are giving here of betterness and bestness!

1964 Amer. Statistician 18 22/1 What we call ‘best’ depends on such things as our choice of mathematical model and the criteria of ‘bestness’.

2004 New Yorker 12 Jan. 23/3 But best-ness isn't the only factor that goes into the making of an annual ten-best list.