Where does “sadness” come from?
Sadness comes from Middle English sadnesse, meaning heaviness or seriousness, though the ultimate origin remains unclear.
sadness (English): The state or emotion of being sad; An event in...
Definitions
- The state or emotion of being sad; An event in...
Ancestry of “sadness”, step by step
sadness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English sad
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sad | "Emotionally negative."; Sated, having had one's... |
| 2 | Middle English | sad | sated, weary having had enough |
| 3 | Old English | sæd | full, sated; weary; seed |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *sād | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sēdiz | seed |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | seh₁- | to impress, insert; to sow, to plant; long,... |
via Middle English sadnesse
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sadnesse | denseness, solidness, hardness |