Where does “quaintness” come from?
Quaintness derives from Middle English quaintness, formed from quaint plus the Old English suffix -nes, ultimately from Latin cognitus meaning known, with formative elements from Latin -ivus and con-.
quaintness (English): Cunning; craftiness; Skill, artfulness; Primness,...
Definitions
- Cunning; craftiness; Skill, artfulness; Primness,...
Ancestry of “quaintness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | quaint | Of a person: cunning, crafty; Cleverly made;... |
| 2 | Middle English | queynte | intelligent, smart, well-thought, sagacious,... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | cointe | clever; intelligent |
| 4 | Latin | cognitus | known (from experience), having been known; recognised, having been recognised; acquainted, having been acquainted |
| 5 | Latin | cognōscere | — |
| 6 | Latin | co- | allomorph of con- |
| 7 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 8 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 9 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |