Where does “-nis” come from?

-nis (German) comes from Middle High German -nisse, from Old High German -nissī, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz, from Proto-West Germanic -ī, from Proto-Germanic -į̄, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

-nis (German): A suffix for deriving nouns from verbs or...

Definitions

  1. A suffix for deriving nouns from verbs or...

Ancestry of “-nis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High German-nisse
2Old High German-nissī
3Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
5Proto-West Germanic-ness, -th
6Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
7Proto-Indo-European-íh₂
8Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “-nis

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂