English

Verb

gooden ‎(third-person singular simple present goodens, present participle goodening, simple past and past participle goodened)

1. (transitive) To make good; improve; better; perfect.
   • 2009, Helen Malson, Maree Burns, Critical Feminist Approaches to Eating Dis/Orders:

     For many years we have endeavored to comprehend how a/b could transform highly intelligent and in many respects 'model' girls and women (and sometimes boys and men) into unwitting bystanders and accomplices to their own torture and impending death while remaining convinced that they are being perfected and goodened?

   • 2010, Richard Francis, Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia:

     The passive voice is all-pervasive. This is a world in which virtue is achieved by not doing things, only thus, like Jesus (Wright tells us) may we “be Goodened with Good.

2. (intransitive) To become good.
3. (intransitive, Britain dialectal) To grow; improve; prosper.

Derived terms

• goodening

Etymology 2

Back-formation from goodening, an alteration of gooding ‎(“to receive goods or goodies”), believed to be derived from goody or perhaps a survival of Middle English goden, godien ‎(“to make good, become good, endow with goods”), from Old English gōdian ‎(“to improve, get better; make better; endow, enrich”). Alternative etymology derives this term from earlier hoodening, hodening perhaps a corruption of Woden ‎(“Odin”).

Verb

gooden ‎(third-person singular simple present goodens, present participle goodening, simple past and past participle goodened)

1. (intransitive, dialectal) To perambulate, usually town to town, collecting alms, gifts, or small gratuities before Christmas-time, usually on St. Thomas's Day.
   • 1871, Henry Martin, The history of Brighton and environs:

     Phoebe, in support of a good old Sussex custom, regularly, on St. Thomas's Day, December 21st, went out "Goodening," visiting well-to-do parishioners, to gossip upon the past, over hot elderberry wine and plum cake, and to receive doles, either in money or materials, [...]

   • 1910, Peter Hampson Ditchfield, Vanishing England: the book:

     In 1899 the oldest dame who took part in the ceremony was aged ninety-three, while in 1904 a widow "goodened" for the thirtieth year in succession.

Synonyms

• mump

Related terms

• goodening