Etymograph

English

hardness

Hardness comes from Old English heard ‘hard’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *harduz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduz1‘hard’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)2‘hard’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150heard3‘hard’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150heardnes4
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardness4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611hardness4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī)
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English heard
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English heardnes
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English hardness
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Who can number the cloudes in wiſedom? or who…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*harduzWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī)‘hard’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hard(ī)Wiktionary, Old English heard‘hard’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150heardWiktionary, Old English heardnes‘hard’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150heardnesWiktionary, English hardness
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hardnessWiktionary, English hardness
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611hardnessWiktionary, English hardness. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Who can number the cloudes in wiſedom? or who…”

Formed from hard + -ness

Proto-Germanic *harduz

Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī)

Old English heard ‘hard’

Middle English hard

English hard

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strong, powerful’

rather, bureaucracy, bureaucratic, aristocracy, bureaucrat, 42 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī) ‘hard’

harden, 2 more

through Old English heard ‘hard’

hardly, hardship, 2 more

Today it means

noun The quality of being hard.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hardness”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), Old English heard, Old English heardnes. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *harduz / hardness

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