Sadness
/ˈsæd.nəs/noun
A state of feeling sorrowful or unhappy.
Did you know?The Old English root of 'sad' meant 'sated' or 'full', which is fascinatingly tied to the feeling of emotional emptiness we associate with sadness today.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sēd-
“to sit, settle, which conveys a sense of being weighed down or burdened.”
Old English
Old English
sæd
“sated, full, which evolved to signify emotional heaviness.”
Middle English
Middle English
sadde
“sorrowful, heavy-hearted.”
14th Century
Middle English
sadnesse
“the quality of being sad, encompassing grief and sorrow.”
Modern English
English
sadness
“the state or condition of being sad, now fully entrenched in emotional vocabulary.”