Where does “childlessness” come from?
Childlessness is from Old English childlēas, formed from child and lēas meaning without or lacking, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gel- meaning to lack.
childlessness (English): The state of being childless
Definitions
- The state of being childless
Ancestry of “childlessness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ness | Appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the... |
| 2 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 3 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |