DECENCY

decency

(noun) the quality of being polite and respectable

decency

(noun) the quality of conforming to standards of propriety and morality

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

decency (countable and uncountable, plural decencies)

The quality of being decent; propriety.

That which is proper or becoming.

Source: Wiktionary

De"cen*cy, n.; pl. Decencies. Etym: [L. decentia, fr. decens: cf. F. décence. See Decent.]

1. The quality or state of being decent, suitable, or becoming, in words or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty. Observances of time, place, and of decency in general. Burke. Immodest words admit of no defense, For want of decency is want of sense. Roscommon.

2. That which is proper or becoming. The external decencies of worship. Atterbury. Those thousand decencies, that daily flow From all her words and actions. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition