Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gutless” come from?

gutless (English) comes from English -less, from Middle English -les, from Turkish -le, from Turkish ile, from Ottoman Turkish ایله, from Old Anatolian Turkish اِیلَه, from Proto-Turkic bile — with, together, also.

gutless (English): Cowardly; lacking courage or morals

Definitions

  1. Cowardly; lacking courage or morals

Ancestry of “gutless”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-lessLacking ; without . Added usually to a noun to...
2Middle English-lesLacking ; without
3Turkish-lewith, shortened form of ile; by, shortened form...
4Turkishilewith; and
5Ottoman Turkishایله—
6Old Anatolian Turkishاِیلَه—
7Proto-Turkicbilewith, together, also

Words derived from “gutless”

  • gutlessness
  • gutlessly
Every word from Proto-Turkic bile →