Where does “mercifulness” come from?
mercifulness (English) comes from English merciful, from Middle English merciful, from Middle English mercy, from Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic -fullaz, from Proto-Germanic fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós — to fill.
mercifulness (English): The state of being merciful; mercy
Definitions
- The state of being merciful; mercy
Ancestry of “mercifulness”, step by step
mercifulness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English merciful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | merciful | showing mercy |
| 2 | Middle English | merciful | — |
| 3 | Middle English | mercy | Alternative form of mercien |
| 4 | Middle English | -ful | Appended to nouns to form adjectives denoting... |
| 5 | Old English | -ful | full of; -ful |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -fullaz | -ful |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | fullaz | full; the whole, the entire |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |
via Middle English mercyfulnes
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mercyfulnes | — |