Meanings
- archaicuncountableThe quality of being good, wholesome, comfortable, etc.
There is a felt contrast between the two groups — the snug comfort and “bienness” of the regular inmates of the cottage, and the careworn uncertainty and meagreness which belong to the life of the others.
1879, Adam Lind Simpson, The Story of Sir David Wilkie: His Life and Works, page 492 more examples
Here were no haggard savages, unkempt and scantily clad, coming forth from their dens in the rocks to stare wildly at the strangers. On the contrary, there was a prevailing air of comfort and “bienness” about the people and their houses.
1874, William Black, A Princess of Thule, volume 1, page 36[Otago's] pace has been, and even without auriferous wealth, would have continued to be, that of steady progress. Not so deliriously fast, perhaps, but in a sense which the more thoughtful can appreciate as more satisfactory; that would have yielded a description of rough bienness to the majority of the people which is always associated with […] the growth of the social and domestic virtues […]
1879, James Barr, The Old Identities: Being Sketches and Reminiscences During the First Decade of the Province of Otago, N.Z., page 338
Origin
- Frenchbien“good, well”
- Englishbienness
From French bien (“good, well”) + -ness.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bienness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bienness
“bienness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bienness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bienness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bienness.
Source: bienness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.