English
homelessness
Homelessness comes from Old English hāmlēas ‘homeless’, from hām ‘home’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haimaz‘home’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haim‘home’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hām‘home’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150hāmlēas‘homeless’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*homlesreconstructed
- English1500–presenthomeless
- Englishearliest quotation 1920homelessness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haimaz‘home’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haim‘home’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hām‘home’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150hāmlēas‘homeless’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*homlesreconstructed
- English1500–presenthomeless
- Englishearliest quotation 1920homelessness
Earliest quotation: 1920, Harvey's Weekly: “Houseless and Homeless. The estimate of the New York…”
A compound of homeless + -ness
Proto-Germanic *haimaz ‘home’
Proto-West Germanic *haim ‘home’
Old English hām ‘home’
Old English hāmlēas
Middle English *homles
English homeless
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’
post, site, position, situation, positive, purpose, suppose, opponent, compound, propose, expose, impose, consolation, dispose, repository, compose, proponent, exponent, posit, expound, situate, situs, pone, 70 more
through Proto-Germanic *haimaz ‘home’
haunt, bohemian, hamlet, 11 more
through Old English hām ‘home’
Today it means
noun The state of being homeless.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *haimaz / homelessness