Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “painfulness” come from?

painfulness (English) comes from Middle English peynfulnes, from English -ness, from Middle English -nesse, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

painfulness (English): The state or quality of being painful, of causing...

Definitions

  1. The state or quality of being painful, of causing...

Ancestry of “painfulness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpeynfulnes—
2English-nessAppended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the...
3Middle English-nesseAffixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns...
4Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
6Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
7Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
8Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
9Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
10Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →