Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
-ness. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-ness, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-ness in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-ness you have here. The definition of the word
-ness will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
-ness, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English -nes, -nesse, from Old English -nis, -nes, from Proto-West Germanic *-nassī, from Proto-Germanic *-inassuz.
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.
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)".
- calm + -ness → calmness
- dark + -ness → darkness
- kind + -ness → kindness
- one + -ness → oneness
- 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.
- that + -ness → thatness
- tree + -ness → treeness
- thug + -ness → thugness
Usage notes
- If an 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. It does not, however, usually occur when the -y is part of the root, as in spry → spryness.
- Plurals are formed by adding -es, e.g. happiness → happinesses.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
Middle English
Suffix
-ness
- Alternative form of -nesse
Old English
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ness
- Alternative form of -nes
Declension
Declension of -ness (strong ō-stem)
References
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English -nes, -nesse, from Old English -nis, -nes, from Proto-West Germanic *-nassī.
Suffix
-ness
- Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns which denote a quality, state or condition.