English
hardness
Hardness comes from Old English heard ‘hard’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *harduz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduz‘hard’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)‘hard’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150heard‘hard’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150heardnes
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardness
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduz‘hard’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)‘hard’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150heard‘hard’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150heardnes
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardness
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Who can number the cloudes in wiſedom? or who…”
Formed from hard + -ness
Proto-Germanic *harduz
Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī)
Old English heard ‘hard’
Middle English hard
English hard
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’
rather, bureaucracy, bureaucratic, aristocracy, bureaucrat, 42 more
through Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī) ‘hard’
through Old English heard ‘hard’
Today it means
noun The quality of being hard.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *harduz / hardness