-ness
English
Etymology
From Middle English -nes, -nesse, from Old English -nis, -nes, from Proto-Germanic *-nassuz. This suffix was formed already in Proto-Germanic by false division of the final consonant *-n- of the preceding stem + the actual suffix *-assuz. The latter was in turn derived from an earlier *-at(s)-tuz, from the verbal suffix *-at-janą + the noun suffix *-þuz.
Cognates are Old Saxon -nissi, -nussi, Dutch -nis, German -nis and Gothic -𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌿𐍃 (-assus), -𐌹𐌽𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌿𐍃 (-inassus).
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ness
- Appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the state of being (the adjective)", "the quality of being (the adjective)", or "the measure of being (the adjective)".
- Appended to words of other parts of speech to form nouns (often nonce words or terms in philosophy) meaning the state/quality/measure of the idea represented by these words.
Usage notes
- If adjective ends in -y, then this changes to -i- when -ness is suffixed. This occurs both when the -y is the suffix -y (“having the quality of”), as in mess → messy → messiness (hence -y → -i-), but also in other cases, as in comely → comeliness.
- Plurals are formed by adding -es, e.g. happiness → happinesses.
Derived terms
► <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:English_words_suffixed_with_-ness' title='Category:English words suffixed with -ness'>English words suffixed with -ness</a>
Translations
appended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the state of being...", "the quality of being...", or "the measure of being..."
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Middle English
References
- “-nes(se, suf.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 April 2018.
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