English
newness
Newness comes from Old English nīewnes ‘newness, novelty’, from nīewe ‘new’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos2‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwyos2reconstructedvariant of *néwos
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*niwjaz2‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*niwi2‘new’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nīewe3‘new’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nīewnes4‘newness, novelty’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500newnesse4
- Englishearliest quotation 1852newness4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English niewe
- 3 Wiktionary, Old English niewnes
- 4 Wiktionary, English newness
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1852, Herman Melville: “Surprised and rejoiced thus far at the unanticipated newness,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, Old English niewe‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwyosWiktionary, Old English niewereconstructedvariant of *néwos
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*niwjazWiktionary, Old English niewe‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*niwiWiktionary, Old English niewe‘new’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nīeweWiktionary, Old English niewnes‘new’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nīewnesWiktionary, English newness‘newness, novelty’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500newnesseWiktionary, English newness
- Englishearliest quotation 1852newnessWiktionary, English newness. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1852, Herman Melville: “Surprised and rejoiced thus far at the unanticipated newness,…”
Formed from new + -ness
Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’
…
Proto-Germanic *niwjaz ‘new’
Proto-West Germanic *niwi ‘new’
Old English nēowe ‘new’
Middle English neowe
English new
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’
renovation, innovate, renovate, innovator, noo, telenovela, novation, 11 more
through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’
novel, innovation, nova, novice, neon, nuevo, novitiate, 16 more
through Proto-Germanic *niwjaz ‘new’
through Proto-West Germanic *niwi ‘new’
through Old English nīewe ‘new’
Today it means
noun The property of being new; novelty; recency.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “newness”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *néwos, Old English niewe, Old English niewnes. 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-Indo-European *nu / newness