Brednysse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the measurement of how wide something is from side to side, or the quality of being broad
2. Old English word for the extent of something across its width, the same idea that modern English expresses as breadth
3. The archaic noun describing the width or broadness of an object, surface, or stretch of land

Etymology: In Middle English, "brednysse" meant "breadth" or "width," the quality of being broad. It is built from "brede," the Middle English form of the adjective "broad," and the suffix "-nesse," the same suffix that gives modern "-ness" in words like "kindness." Adding "-nesse" to an adjective to make an abstract noun was a productive pattern in English long before this word appeared. Old English already had its own word for breadth, "brǣdu," which is related to the adjective "brād" (broad). The newer "-nes" formation gradually joined and then largely gave way to the older noun, so "brednysse" was one of several overlapping ways of naming the same quality. Its spelling varied widely, as was normal for Middle English before standardized spelling. Because the word is a transparent compound of familiar parts, its history is mainly one of spelling and competing forms rather than any dramatic change of meaning. It has not survived into modern English; the everyday descendant of the same root is "breadth," which took its form from "brede" with the "-th" ending.