*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -less

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Lacking (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less From Middle English -les, -leas, from Old English -lēas (“-less”) (compare lēas (“devoid of, loose from, false”)), from Proto-West Germanic *-laus, from Proto-Germanic *-lausaz, from *lausaz (“loose”). (Not related to less, which derives from *laisiz, *laisizô.) Cognate with Scots -less, West Frisian -leas, Saterland Frisian -loos, Dutch -loos, Low German -los, German -los, Danish -løs, Swedish -lös, Icelandic -laus. More at loose.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-les",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *lewh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *lewHs-der.\nProto-Germanic *leusaną\nProto-Germanic *lausaz\nProto-Germanic *-lausaz\nProto-West Germanic *-laus\nOld English -lēas\nMiddle English -les\nEnglish -less\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*lewHs-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*lewh₁-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*leusaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*lausaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-lausaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-laus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-lēas\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-les\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-less\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-less\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-les"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -les"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "-lēas",
        "4": "",
        "5": "-less"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English -lēas (“-less”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*-laus"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *-laus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*-lausaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *-lausaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "-less"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots -less"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "-leas"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian -leas"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "-loos"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian -loos"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-loos"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -loos"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "-los"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German -los"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "-los"
      },
      "expansion": "German -los"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "-løs"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish -løs"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "-lös"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish -lös"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "-laus"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic -laus"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-les",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *lewh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *lewHs-der.\nProto-Germanic *leusaną\nProto-Germanic *lausaz\nProto-Germanic *-lausaz\nProto-West Germanic *-laus\nOld English -lēas\nMiddle English -les\nEnglish -less"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*lewh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lewh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "*leusaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/leusaną"
    ],
    [
      "*lausaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lausaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-lausaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-lausaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-laus",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-laus"
    ],
    [
      "-lēas",
      "-leas#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-les",
      "-les#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-les",
      "-les#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-leas",
      "-leas#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-lēas",
      "-leas#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "lēas",
      "leas#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*-laus",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-laus"
    ],
    [
      "*-lausaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-lausaz"
    ],
    [
      "*lausaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lausaz"
    ],
    [
      "less",
      "less#English"
    ],
    [
      "*laisiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/laisiz"
    ],
    [
      "*laisizô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/laisizô"
    ],
    [
      "-less",
      "-less#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "-leas",
      "-leas#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "-loos",
      "-loos#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "-loos",
      "-loos#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "-los",
      "-los#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "-los",
      "-los#German"
    ],
    [
      "-løs",
      "-løs#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "-lös",
      "-lös#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "-laus",
      "-laus#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "loose",
      "loose#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Lacking (something); without (something). Added usually to a noun to form an adjective signifying a lack of that noun."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "not-comparable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "recordId": "4a8937150f92ee8fbada2f84f011674c4f10c50ed9ae8fe7ae70f3d1018b9115",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4579c7173acfa79820e4be834d8dea8fba2bb8b5c466ee1ce2384312756d0346",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 220210
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -less →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWxlc3M