Where does “knobbliness” come from?

knobbliness (English) comes from English knobbly, from English knobble, from Middle English knoble, from Middle English -el, from Old French -el, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

knobbliness (English): The state or condition of being knobbly

Definitions

  1. The state or condition of being knobbly

Ancestry of “knobbliness”, step by step

knobbliness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English knobbly

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishknobblyHaving a covering of small knobs
2EnglishknobbleA small knob; To give a knobbly surface to; To...
3Middle EnglishknobleA small knob, bole, or lump
4Middle English-el
5Old French-elSuffix that usually denotes a masculine noun
6Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
7Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
8Proto-Italic-olos
9Proto-Italic-elosForms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns
10Proto-Indo-European-e-lós
11Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via English Ness

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNessAn Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa
2Middle Englishnesse
3Old Englishnæsnot, not at all; not; first/third-person singular...
4Proto-Germanicnasjąfoothill; headland; cape
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂snose
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lósEvery word from Latin -ulusEvery word from Latin -ellus