'archness' originates from Modern English, specifically formed from the adjective 'arch' + the suffix '-ness', where '-ness' meant 'state or quality'.

'archness' developed in Modern English by adding the productive noun-forming suffix '-ness' to the adjective 'arch' (Middle English 'arch(e)'), a word ultimately related to Greek 'arkhi-' ('chief') via Old French and Latin borrowings.

Initially 'arch' (from Greek-rooted 'archi-') conveyed ideas of 'chief' or 'principal'; over time the adjective acquired senses of 'mischievous', 'playfully impertinent', or 'affectedly superior', and 'archness' came to mean the state of those qualities.