Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “brownness” come from?

brownness (English) comes from English -ness, from Middle English -nesse, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

brownness (English): The state or quality of being brown

Definitions

  1. The state or quality of being brown

Ancestry of “brownness”, 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 →