Where does “chickless” come from?
chickless (English) comes from English chick, from Middle English chicke, from Middle English chiken, from Old English ċicen — chicken.
chickless (English): (Of a bird) without a chick or chicks; having produced no chicks
Definitions
- (Of a bird) without a chick or chicks; having produced no chicks
Ancestry of “chickless”, step by step
chickless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | chick | A young bird; A young chicken; A young child |
| 2 | Middle English | chicke | — |
| 3 | Middle English | chiken | chicken", also "chick |
| 4 | Old English | ċicen | chicken |
via English less
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | less | To a smaller extent or degree; comparative form... |
| 2 | Middle English | les | false; lying; deceptive; falsehood; a lie |
| 3 | Old English | lēas | false, lax; false, void, loose; devoid of, loose... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *laus | — |