English
madness
Madness comes from Middle English madnesse, and goes back to mad.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mad
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500madnesseas madnes
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602madness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mad
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500madnesseas madnes
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602madness
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Though this be madneſſe, / Yet there is Method…”
Formed from mad + -ness
Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘to change’
…
Proto-Germanic *maidijaną ‘to change’
Old English *mǣdan
Old English ġemǣdan
Middle English mad
English mad
Linked words
through Middle English mad
Today it means
noun The state of being mad; insanity; mental disease.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English mad / madness