Where does “sternness” come from?
Sternness comes from English stern, which derives from Old English stierne, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr meaning strict or severe in demeanor.
sternness (English): The state or quality of being stern; The result...
Definitions
- The state or quality of being stern; The result...
Ancestry of “sternness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Stern | Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner |
| 2 | English | tern | Any of various sea birds of the family Sternidae... |
| 3 | Middle English | terne | — |
| 4 | Old French | terne | dull, dim |
| 5 | Latin | ternas | accusative feminine plural of terni |
| 6 | Latin | terni | three each; three at a time |
| 7 | Latin | ter | thrice |
| 8 | Latin | terr | — |
| 9 | Old Latin | tris | — |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | trēs | three |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | *tréyes | — |