Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “abstractness” come from?

Abstractness derives from abstract, from Latin abstractus, the past participle of abstrahere meaning "to draw away," composed of ab- "away" and the root dʰregʰ- in Proto-Indo-European.

abstractness (English): The quality of being abstract

Definitions

  1. The quality of being abstract

Ancestry of “abstractness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-nessAppended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the...
2Middle English-nesseAffixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns...
3Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
6Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
7Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
8Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
9Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →