Where does “worthiness” come from?
Worthiness comes from Middle English worthynesse, formed with the Middle English suffix -nesse (from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ium) added to Middle English worthy (from Middle French -ie), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root wer- meaning to turn or bend.
worthiness (English): The state or quality of having value or merit;...
Definitions
- The state or quality of having value or merit;...
Ancestry of “worthiness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | worthynesse | worthiness |
| 2 | Middle English | worthy | worthy |
| 3 | Middle English | worth | to become |
| 4 | Old English | weorþ | worth, deserving; honoured, esteemed; worth,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | werþaz | worthy, valuable |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |