Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “self-righteousness” come from?

self-righteousness (English) comes from English righteousness, from English rightwiseness, from Middle English rightwisnes, from Old English rihtwīsnes, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

self-righteousness (English): Confidence in one's own righteousness,...

Definitions

  1. Confidence in one's own righteousness,...

Ancestry of “self-righteousness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrighteousnessThe quality or state of being righteous;...
2Englishrightwisenessrighteousness
3Middle Englishrightwisnesjustice
4Old Englishrihtwīsnesjustice, righteousness
5Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
6Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
7Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
8Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
9Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
10Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
11Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →