Where does “wistfulness” come from?
Wistfulness derives from English wistful, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, though the semantic development from the ancient root to the modern sense remains unclear.
wistfulness (English): The state or characteristic of being wistful
Definitions
- The state or characteristic of being wistful
Ancestry of “wistfulness”, step by step
wistfulness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |