From Old English 'gecynde' (nature, birth) — the adjective sense arose from the idea that goodness is natural behavior.
As a noun, a class or type of similar things or people. As an adjective, having a friendly, generous, and considerate nature.
From Old English 'gecynde' (natural, native, innate), from 'cynn' (kin, family, race), from Proto-Germanic *kunją (family, race), from PIE *Ƶenh₁- (to beget, to give birth). The PIE root *Ƶenh₁- is enormously productive: it yields Latin 'genus' (race, kind), 'gignere' (to beget), Greek 'genos' (race), Sanskrit 'janas' (race, people), and Old English 'cynn' (kin). The original English sense was 'natural, native, with the feelings natural to one