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Ness¹

  • /nɛs/

Rhymes with -ɛs

Where it comes from

Named after the River Ness, of Proto-Brythonic/Pictish origin, from a Proto-Celtic word *Nesta describing great currents, according to MacBain, from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gave the river Νέστος (Néstos), possibly *ned- (“water”) (cf. German nass (“wet”)).

proper noun Nesses

  1. Irish, countable, uncountable An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa.
  2. countable, uncountable A suburban village in Neston parish, Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ3076).
  3. countable, uncountable The northernmost area on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland.
  4. countable, uncountable A short river in Highland council area, Scotland, which flows from Loch Ness through Inverness to the Beauly Firth; in full, River Ness.
  5. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Ness City
  6. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Ness County
  7. countable, uncountable A surname.

ness²

  • /nɛs/

Rhymes with -ɛs

Where it comes from

From Middle English nesse (in placenames), from Old English næs, from Proto-Germanic *nasją (“promontory; ness”); cognate with Middle Low German nes, Icelandic nes, Swedish näs, Danish næs, Old Norse nes. Related to nose.

noun nesses

  1. A promontory; a cape or headland. (Frequently used as a suffix in placenames.) Velvraz Sebarm stands upon the lake, among orange-trees and pomegranates and almonds and peaches of the south, a mile north-west over the water from Zayana town, and two miles by land: an old castle built of honey-coloured marble at the tip of a long sickle-shaped ness that sweeps round southwards,

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: cape, reservation, nis, rie, nice, series, reserve, tj, laugh, promontory, headland, rns, vanessa, rb, diso, sra

Translations

Every language

noun a promontory; a cape or headland

Русскиймыс mys

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Cite this
MLA

"ness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ness. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ness. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ness

Chicago

"ness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ness.

BibTeX
@misc{ness_2026,
  title = {ness},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ness},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}