the word 'uneasiness' is a layered english construction. its core, 'easy', entered english via old french 'aisie', which itself derived from the vulgar latin 'adjacens', meaning "lying nearby, at hand," and ultimately from the latin verb 'jacere', "to lie." the old english prefix 'un-' was attached to negate this state, creating 'uneasy' to mean "not comfortable or at rest." finally, the native old english suffix '-ness', used to form abstract nouns indicating a state or condition, was appended. thus, the literal "state of not being at ease" evolved into the modern abstract meaning of a feeling of anxiety or discomfort.

Structure: un (not) + easy (comfortable) + ness (state or quality) un- (old english, a prefix meaning "not"); easy (middle english, from old french 'aisie', meaning "comfortable, at ease"); -ness (old english, a noun-forming suffix denoting a state or quality).