Where does “distinctiveness” come from?
Distinctiveness derives from English distinctive, from Latin distinctus, the past participle of distinguere meaning "to separate or divide," from the prefix dis- meaning "apart" and the Proto-Indo-European root dwís and dwóh₁ meaning "two."
distinctiveness (English): The quality of being distinctive, individual or...
Definitions
- The quality of being distinctive, individual or...
Ancestry of “distinctiveness”, 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... |