English
moodiness
Moodiness may come from Middle English modinesse ‘pride’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500modinesse‘pride’uncertain
- Englishtodaymoodiness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500modinesse‘pride’uncertain
- Englishtodaymoodiness
Formed from moody + -ness
Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to endeavor’
…
Proto-Germanic *mōdaz ‘mind’
Proto-Germanic *mōdagaz ‘courageous’
Old English mōdiġ ‘brave’
Middle English mody ‘Boastful, conceited, arrogant, or vain’
English moody
The story
Either inherited from Middle English modinesse (‘pride’), from Old English mōdiġnes, or formed anew from moody + -ness.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to endeavor’
month, measure, meal, moon, moral, meter, sunny, dimensional, immense, metric, dimension, metre, meta, mesa, menstrual, asymmetry, commensurate, mensa, madder, metrology, mete, metis, metra, firman, menses, 64 more
through Old English mōdiġ ‘brave, courageous’
Today it means
noun The property of being moody.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English modinesse / moodiness