cautiousness
Meaning
the quality of being careful to avoid danger or risks
Structure
Usage
her cautiousness prevented her from making a hasty investment.
the project's success was due in part to the team's extreme cautiousness.
while his cautiousness is admirable, it sometimes leads to missed opportunities.
Etymology
the word 'cautiousness' is built upon the latin root 'caut-', derived from the past participle 'cautus' of the verb 'cavēre', meaning 'to be on guard, beware'. this root entered english via the adjective 'cautious', formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ious', which denotes 'characterized by'. the final layer is the native english suffix '-ness', which converts adjectives into abstract nouns denoting a state or quality. thus, the literal construction 'state of being characterized by wariness' elegantly captures the modern meaning of the quality of carefulness and risk-avoidance.
Analysis
caut (from latin 'cautus', meaning 'careful, wary'), ious (english suffix forming adjectives, from latin '-iosus'), ness (english suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives, from old english '-nes')