Where does “plucklessness” come from?
plucklessness (English) comes from English pluckless, from English pluck, from Middle English plucken, from Old English pluccian, from Proto-West Germanic *plukkōn, from Proto-Germanic plukkōną — to pluck, pull out or off.
plucklessness (English): Absence of pluck or courage; timidity
Definitions
- Absence of pluck or courage; timidity
Ancestry of “plucklessness”, step by step
plucklessness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pluckless
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pluckless | Without pluck; timid; faint-hearted |
| 2 | English | pluck | To pull something sharply; to pull something out;... |
| 3 | Middle English | plucken | — |
| 4 | Old English | pluccian | to pluck, pull away, tear |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *plukkōn | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | plukkōną | to pluck, pull out or off |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |