Where does “rottenness” come from?
Rottenness comes from Middle English rotennesse, formed from Middle English rotten plus the suffix -nesse, where rotten derives from Middle English -en applied to Latin rupta, meaning broken.
rottenness (English): The quality of being rotten
Definitions
- The quality of being rotten
Ancestry of “rottenness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | rotten | Of perishable items, overridden with bacteria and... |
| 2 | Middle English | roten | plural of rote; To decompose ; to become rotten... |
| 3 | Middle English | rote | The root; The foundation or base of a... |
| 4 | Old French | rote | rote |
| 5 | Latin | rupta | nominative feminine singular of ruptus;... |
| 6 | Latin | ruptus | broken; ruptured, burst |
| 7 | Latin | rumpō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrunépti | to be breaking |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrewp- | to break, tear |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | Hrew- | to tear out, dig out, open, acquire |
Words derived from “rottenness”