Etymograph

English

tediousness

Tediousness comes from Middle English tediosenes.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tediosenes1
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602tediousness1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tediousness
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[B]revity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tediosenesWiktionary, English tediousness
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602tediousnessWiktionary, English tediousness. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[B]revity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the…”

Formed from tedious + -ness

Latin taedeō ‘to be disgusted’

Latin taedium ‘weariness, tedium’

Late Latin taediōsus ‘tedious, boring, wearisome, monotonous’

Old French tedieus

English tedious

Every English word from Middle English tediosenes

Today it means

noun The quality of being tedious; tedium.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tediousness”. 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 / Middle English tediosenes / tediousness

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