Where does “madness” come from?
Madness comes from Middle English madnes, formed from Middle English mad plus the suffix -nesse, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to make or knead.
madness (English): The state of being mad; insanity; mental disease;...
Definitions
- The state of being mad; insanity; mental disease;...
Ancestry of “madness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | madnes | Madness; the state of being deranged or insane;... |
| 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... |