'criticalness' originates from English, specifically formed by combining the adjective 'critical' and the suffix '-ness', where '-ness' meant 'state or quality'.

'critical' comes from Greek 'kritikos' (through Latin 'criticus' and Medieval Latin), meaning 'able to judge'; the suffix '-ness' derives from Old English '-nes(s)' used to form abstract nouns. These elements combined in Modern English to form 'criticalness'.

Initially, 'critical' meant 'able to make judgments' and '-ness' formed an abstract noun indicating that quality; over time 'criticalness' evolved to cover both a tendency to criticize and the notion of seriousness or decisive importance.