Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell sickness

Sickness is spelled S-I-C-K-N-E-S-S. The part people get wrong: double S.

hear itsick·ness/'sɪknɛs/nounPrefixes and work

What it means: Impairment of normal physiological function.

In a sentence: When you have a sickness, it's important to rest and get better.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double s.

Same family: sickly, sicker, sickest, illness. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Sickness comes from the Old English word 'seocnes', built from 'seoc' meaning 'ill' and the noun-forming ending '-ness'. The suffix '-ness' is very productive in English and is used to turn adjectives into nouns that describe a state or quality, like 'kind' → 'kindness' and 'dark' → 'darkness'.

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