-nes[s]

According to the Old English Dictionary:

-nes[s],-nys[s], a frequently occurring suffix of feminine abstract nouns, cf.

-nes[s]

Goth. -assus, e. g. ufar-assus : O. H. Ger. -nessi; f. nessi ; n.; -nissa, -nissi; f. -nissi; n.

Related words: Grimm. Gram. ii. 321 sqq. ness,-ness