Where does “meaninglessness” come from?
Meaninglessness derives from English meaning plus the suffix -ness, with meaning from Middle English meninge and Old English mæning, ultimately from Latin medianus and medius, both meaning "middle," and Latin minae meaning "threats."
meaninglessness (English): The state of lacking meaning; the quality of...
Definitions
- The state of lacking meaning; the quality of...
Ancestry of “meaninglessness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | meaningless | Lacking meaning; Insignificant; not worthy of... |
| 2 | English | meaning | The denotation, referent, or idea connected with... |
| 3 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 4 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 5 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 6 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 9 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |