English
littleness
Littleness comes from Middle English litelnes, and goes back to Old English lȳtelnys.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lȳtelnysas lytelnysse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litelnes
- Englishearliest quotation 1614littleness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lȳtelnysas lytelnysse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litelnes
- Englishearliest quotation 1614littleness
Earliest quotation: 1614, John Donne, To the Countess of Salisbury: “Court, city, church are all shops of smallwares; All…”
Formed from little + -ness
Proto-Indo-European *lewd- ‘to bend’
…
Proto-West Germanic *lūtan ‘to bow down’
Proto-West Germanic *lūtil
Old English lȳtel ‘small’
Middle English litel
English little
Every English word from Old English lȳtelnys
Today it means
noun The property of being little, smallness.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English lȳtelnys / littleness