Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sorrowfulness” come from?

sorrowfulness (English) comes from Middle English sorwefulnesse, from Middle English -nesse, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

sorrowfulness (English): The quality or state of sorrow; sadness

Definitions

  1. The quality or state of sorrow; sadness

Ancestry of “sorrowfulness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsorwefulnesse—
2Middle English-nesseAffixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns...
3Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
6Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
7Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
8Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
9Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →