Where does “counterfactualism” come from?
counterfactualism (English) comes from English counterfactual, from English factual, from English fact, from English factness, from English -ness, from Middle English -nesse, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Ancestry of “counterfactualism”, step by step
counterfactualism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English counterfactual
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | counterfactual | Contrary to the facts; untrue; Of or in... |
| 2 | English | factual | Pertaining to or consisting of objective claims;... |
| 3 | English | fact | Something actual as opposed to invented;... |
| 4 | English | factness | The quality of being based on facts; The quality... |
| 5 | English | -ness | Appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the... |
| 6 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 7 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |
via English ism
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ism | An ideology, system of thought, or practice that... |
| 2 | English | -ism | Used to form nouns of action or process or result... |
| 3 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |