Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “greetnesse” come from?

greetnesse (Middle English) comes from Old English grēatnes, from Old English -nes, 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...

Ancestry of “greetnesse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishgrēatnes—
2Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
3Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
5Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
6Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
7Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
8Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “greetnesse”

  • greatness
  • overgreatness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →