'worthlessness' originates from the Old English word 'weorþ', meaning 'value' or 'worth', combined with the suffix '-less', indicating 'without', and '-ness', forming a noun indicating a state or quality.

'worth' transformed from the Old English 'weorþ', and eventually became the modern English word 'worth'. The suffix '-less' was added to form 'worthless', and '-ness' was added to form 'worthlessness'.

Initially, 'worth' meant 'value' or 'significance', but with the addition of '-less' and '-ness', it evolved to mean 'the state of having no value'.