Where does “ungodliness” come from?
Ungodliness is derived from Middle English -nesse (suffix forming abstract nouns) combined with Middle English un- (negation prefix), tracing back through Old English un-, on-, and and- to Proto-Indo-European ano- and ne, both expressing negation.
ungodliness (English): The state of being ungodly; Ungodly behaviour
Definitions
- The state of being ungodly; Ungodly behaviour
Ancestry of “ungodliness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | ungodly | Of a person: lacking reverence for God; of an... |
| 2 | Middle English | ungodli | cruelly, maliciously, wickedly; unfairly,... |
| 3 | Middle English | godli | — |
| 4 | Old English | gōdlīċ | good, goodly |
| 5 | Old English | gōd | a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good,... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | gōd | good |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | gudą | invoked one; god, deity |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | gastiz | stranger, guest |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰóstis | stranger, host |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |