Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “otherness” come from?

Otherness derives from Middle English -nesse, Old English -nes, and Proto-Indo-European ánteros, meaning "the other of two," combined with Proto-Germanic -inōną.

otherness (English): The quality of being different or distinct; The...

Definitions

  1. The quality of being different or distinct; The...

Ancestry of “otherness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishotherSee "other" below; Second; Alien
2EnglishkinRace; family; breed; kind; Persons of the same...
3Englishfictionkin—
4EnglishfictionLiterary type using invented or imaginative...
5Middle Englishficcioun—
6Old Frenchficciondissimulation, ruse, invention
7Latinfictiofashioning, forming, formation; fiction
8Latin-tiō—
9Latindissertātiō—
10Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
11Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
12Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
13Latincalceusshoe
14Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
Every word from Latin calx →