Where does “viciousness” come from?
Viciousness derives from Middle English viciousnesse, formed with the Middle English suffix -nesse (from Old English -nes), combined with the Latin adjective vitiosus, which itself comes from Latin -osus attached to a root from Proto-Indo-European wi-tio-, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁.
viciousness (English): the characteristic of being vicious; the desire...
Definitions
- the characteristic of being vicious; the desire...
Ancestry of “viciousness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | viciousnesse | A tendency or proclivity towards evil or sin |
| 2 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 3 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |