Where does “forwardness” come from?
Forwardness derives from Middle English -nesse, a suffix from Old English -nes, ultimately rooted in Proto-Indo-European per-.
forwardness (English): The quality of being forward
Definitions
- The quality of being forward
Ancestry of “forwardness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | forward | Toward the front or at the front; Without... |
| 2 | Middle English | foreward | forward; agreement, contract, treaty, bargain,... |
| 3 | Old English | foreweard | forward, fore, former, early, prior; an... |
| 4 | Old English | weard | guard; guard, the action of looking out for... |
| 5 | Old English | ōra | ore, unwrought metal |
| 6 | Old English | ēar | sea, ocean; grave, earth |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ahaz | ear |
| 8 | Proto-Finnic | ahtas | narrow, cramped |
| 9 | Proto-Baltic | anśtas | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énǵʰus | narrow, tight |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂enǵʰ- | to constrict, tighten, compress; narrow, tight;... |