Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “meaningfulness” come from?

Meaningfulness derives from English meaningful, which combines English mean with the Old English participial suffix -ing, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- meaning to fill or be full.

meaningfulness (English): The state or measure of being meaningful

Definitions

  1. The state or measure of being meaningful

Ancestry of “meaningfulness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmeaningfulHaving meaning, significant
2EnglishmeaningThe denotation, referent, or idea connected with...
3English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
4Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
5Old English-tūn—
6Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
7Proto-West Germanictūnfence
8Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
9Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
10Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
11Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →