Where does “foolhardiness” come from?
Foolhardiness derives from Middle English -nesse and Old English -nes suffixes applied to Old English roots ultimately traceable to Latin follis and Proto-Indo-European bʰelǵʰ- and bʰel-.
foolhardiness (English): The quality of being foolhardy
Definitions
- The quality of being foolhardy
Ancestry of “foolhardiness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | foolhardy | Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard... |
| 2 | Middle English | folehardy | Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard... |
| 3 | Old French | fol hardi | foolishly bold |
| 4 | Old French | hardi | hardy; tough; durable |
| 5 | Old French | hardir | to harden |
| 6 | Frankish | hardijan | to harden, to make hard |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hardijaną | to make hard, strong; to harden |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | harduz | hard; brave |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kert- | times; to weave, twist together; time |
| 10 | Proto-Turkic | *keŕ- | to travel, tour |