Where does “likeness” come from?
Likeness comes from Middle English liknesse, from Old English līcness, from Proto-West Germanic galīkanassī, derived from Proto-West Germanic galīk and Proto-Germanic galīkaz, with the prefix ga- from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm meaning "with" and the root from Proto-Indo-European līg-.
likeness (English): The state or quality of being like or alike;...
Definitions
- The state or quality of being like or alike;...
Ancestry of “likeness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | liknesse | — |
| 2 | Old English | līcness | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | galīkanassī | likeness, similarity |
| 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... |