Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sickness” come from?

Sickness is derived from Old English sēocnes, a noun formed from the adjective for illness.

sickness (English): The quality or state of being sick or diseased;...

Definitions

  1. The quality or state of being sick or diseased;...

Ancestry of “sickness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsēocnes—
2Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
3Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
5Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
6Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
7Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
8Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “sickness”

  • cybersickness
  • radiosickness
  • gallsickness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →