shamefastness

Etymology

From Middle English schamefastnesse, from Old English sċeamfæstness (“modesty”), equivalent to shamefast + -ness.

shamefastness means the condition or state of being shamefast. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “shamefastness” is a great word

SHAMEFASTNESS — [Noun] The state of being modest, bashful, or restrained by an innate, internal sense of shame and propriety. From Middle English schamefastnesse, from Old English sċeamfæstness ("modesty"), equivalent to shamefast (from Old English sċeamfæst, from sċeamu ("shame") + -fæst ("fast, fixed")) + -ness (noun-forming suffix). Unlike shamelessness, which denotes a brazen lack of decency, or immodesty, which refers to overt boldness, shamefastness implies a positive, inherent reserve. It is the averted gaze that grants privacy, the hand that instinctively draws a curtain, and the deliberate silence held where a coarse joke might easily land—a dignified fortress of the self, now a quiet edifice in a clamorous world.

noun

The condition or state of being shamefast.“This lokyng about of Jeſus, was a geſture of hym that courteouſly requyred a confeſſion of the benefite receiued. He woulde not vtter her by name, leſte he ſhoulde haue ſemed to haue hit her in the teethe, wyth the good turne he dyd her. The woman, of a womanlye ſhamefaſteneſſe, and not of any vnthankfullneſſe, helde her peace.”