Where does “bashfulness” come from?

Bashfulness comes from English bashful, derived from English abashed plus Old English -nes, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- meaning to fill or be full.

bashfulness (English): The quality or property of being bashful

Definitions

  1. The quality or property of being bashful

Ancestry of “bashfulness”, step by step

bashfulness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English bashful

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbashfulShy; not liking to be noticed; socially timid;...
2English-fulUsed to form adjectives from nouns. Full of,...
3Middle English-fulAppended to nouns to form adjectives denoting...
4Old English-fulfull of; -ful
5Proto-Germanic-fullaz-ful
6Proto-Germanicfullazfull; the whole, the entire
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥h₁nósfull
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₁-to fill

via English Ness

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNessAn Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa
2Middle Englishnesse
3Old Englishnæsnot, not at all; not; first/third-person singular...
4Proto-Germanicnasjąfoothill; headland; cape
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂snose

Words derived from “bashfulness

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-Every word from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nósEvery word from Proto-Germanic fullaz
bashfulness — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer