Where does “chicken-heartedness” come from?
chicken-heartedness (English) comes from English chicken-hearted, from English Chicken, from English -en, from Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Old Norse -inn, from Proto-Norse -īna-, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz — adjectival suffix.
chicken-heartedness (English): The quality of being chicken-hearted; cowardice
Definitions
- The quality of being chicken-hearted; cowardice
Ancestry of “chicken-heartedness”, step by step
chicken-heartedness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chicken-hearted
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chicken-hearted | Not brave; lacking courage; cowardly |
| 2 | English | Chicken | A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) |
| 3 | English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 4 | Middle English | -en | Denotes the past participle form when attached to... |
| 5 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 6 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 7 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An 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 |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |