Etymology

lightness

light·ness
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Today it means: the condition of being illuminated Full definition →

Middle English lightnes ← Old English līhtnes ← Proto-West Germanic *liuhtinassī
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lightness · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*liuhtinassī
  2. Old English · inherited fromlīhtnes
  3. Middle English · inherited fromlightnes
  4. English todaylightness

From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse, from Old English līhtnes, lȳhtnys (“enlightening, illumination”), from Proto-West Germanic *liuhtinassī; equivalent to light (“to make bright, illuminate”, verb) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Old High German liuhtnissi (“illumination, enlightening”).

lightness · noun2

  1. Old English · inherited from*lēohtnes“lightness”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromlightnes
  3. English todaylightness

From Middle English lightnes, lightnesse, from Old English *lēohtnes (“lightness”) (compare Old English lēohtmōdnes (“lightness”, literally “light-moodedness”), līhtingnes (“lightness, alleviation”)); equivalent to light (“not heavy”, adjective) + -ness (suffix forming nouns). Cognate with Middle Low German luchtnisse, lüchtnisse (“lightness, frivolity, joyfulness”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.