DictionaryRoot: -nes(s)
Old English
-nes(s)
state or quality
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noun
wilderness
WIL-der-nus/ˈwɪldərnəs/
An uncultivated natural area largely undisturbed by people.
Etymology
The ancestor of wilder developed the meaning “deserted or uninhabited” from an association with wild animals. With an ending that is probably -ness, it came to name uncultivated land inhabited only by such creatures.