serviceablenessn.
/ˈsəːvᵻsəblnəs/, U.S. /ˈsərvəsəb(ə)lnəs/ 1. Readiness to be of service or assistance, obligingness, helpfulness. Now rare.The precise interpretation of quot. 1481 is unclear.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > [noun] > willing
obsequya1425
obsequiousness1447
serviceableness1481
obsequence?c1525
obsequency1595
appliancea1616
1481 (a1470) J. Tiptoft tr. Cicero De Amicicia (Caxton) sig. b6v Ther is nothyng more plesaunt, than the reward for good wylle. or the nyghnes of studyes, and seruysablenes [L. vicissitudine studiorum officiorumque].
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke i. f. xxiiv Thou shouldest haue one, who..with all poyntes of feithfull seruiceablenesse, should geue diligent attendaunce aswell on thee, as on the chylde that is to bee borne.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 77 Contending by laudable means, which shall surpasse other in their Serviceablenesse to God.
1746 J. Barnard Presence Great God 15 He keeps a Record of their Fidelity and Serviceableness; and will gloriously Reward them therefor in the World to come.
1878 F. A. Kemble Rec. Girlhood II. vi. 196 His serviceableness to his friends was unwearied.
1902 J. L. Spalding Socialism & Labor iv. 77 The virtues of mildness, mercy, serviceableness, chastity, and lowly-mindedness were considered weaknesses and defects.
1975 M. Choksi India's Indira ix. 40 Over and above all was her readiness to work with her hands, her general helpfulness and serviceableness.
2. Capability of being of service or of use; usability, usefulness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > [noun]
usea1382
notefulheada1400
utilityc1400
serviceableness1579
behovefulness1592
usefulness1618
inservience1657
commodationa1676
utile1685
service1691
serviceability1845
1579 T. Twyne tr. Petrarch Phisicke against Fortune i. xxxi. f. 42v It is a beast whose weerisomnesse, yf it be compared with his seruiceablenesse, no wyse man wyll buye hym.
1630 J. White Planters Plea iiii. 26 But in the possibilitie of the serviceablenesse of the Colonie to this State, the judgement of the Dutch may somewhat confirme us.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 284 The Serviceableness of these small Bodies of Firemen.
1750 R. Bolton On Employm. of Time Pref. p. xxiii It would be full as absurd..as to deny the serviceableness of any principle, because we fail in its application.
1851 J. Ruskin Sheepfolds 46 There is no fear that the civil officer should underrate the dignity or shorten the serviceableness of the minister.
1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 June 422/3 Eight maps and a good bibliography enhance the serviceableness of the book.
1996 Oxf. Jrnl. Legal Stud. 16 637 The serviceableness of the italicized words in answering the purpose of limitation has already been seen.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1481