Where does “guileless” come from?

Guileless comes from Middle English gile combined with Old English -lēas (meaning "without"), derived from Old English lēas, which traces through Frankish wigila to Proto-Indo-European lewH-.

guileless (English): Free from guile; honest but naive

Definitions

  1. Free from guile; honest but naive

Ancestry of “guileless”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishguileAstuteness often marked by a certain sense of...
2Middle Englishgilegill
3Anglo-Normangile—
4Old Frenchguiletrickery; deception
5Old Englishwīlwile, trick
6Proto-Germanicwīlącraft, deceit
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwéy-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanéǵh₂I

Words derived from “guileless”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wéy- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wīlą →