correctness

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,455 of 15,258leans written

Correctness is freedom from error. Grammatical correctness, the correctness of the answer, political correctness.

Political correctness is now the commonest use by a long way, and it has been an insult almost since it appeared, having been used seriously for only a very short time. Elsewhere it simply means being right.

Definitions of correctness

1nouncorrectnessFreedom from error.B2+
“Please check the correctness of your bank details before you send the form.”

correctness is a quality.

Also accepted in games: accuracy

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*h₃reǵ-
Latin
correctus — improved, amended, correct
French
correct
English
correct
English, today
correctness

Built from

conrigere · Latin — to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct
con- · Latin — together
rego · Latin — I rule, make straight

From correct + -ness. correct Borrowed from French correct, from Latin correctus (“improved, amended, correct”), past participle of corrigere, conrigere (“to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct”), from con- (“together”) + combining form of rego (“I rule, make straight”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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