Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOLD'NESS, n.

1. Courage; bravery; intrepidity; spirit; fearlessness. I can not, with Johnson, interpret this word by fortitude or magnanimity. Boldness does not, I think imply the firmness of mind which constitutes fortitude, nor the elevation and generosity of magnanimity.
2. Prominence; the quality of exceeding the ordinary rules of scrupulous nicety and caution; applied to style, expression and metaphors in language; and to figures in painting, sculpture and architecture.
3. Freedom from timidity; liberty. Great is my boldness of speech towards you. – 2 Cor. vii.
4. Confidence; confident trust. We have boldness and access with confidence. – Eph. iii.
5. Freedom from bashfulness; assurance; confident mien. – Bacon.
6. Prominence; steepness; as, the boldness of the shore.
7. Excess of freedom, bordering on impudence. – Hooker.