Where does “handlessness” come from?
handlessness (English) comes from English handless, from English handleless, from English handle, from Middle English handel, from Old English handle, from Old English handlian, from Proto-West Germanic handulōn, from Proto-Germanic handlōną — hand.
handlessness (English): Lack of hands
Definitions
- Lack of hands
Ancestry of “handlessness”, step by step
handlessness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English handless
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | handless | Without a hand; Not handy; awkward; Without a... |
| 2 | English | handleless | Without a handle |
| 3 | English | handle | The part of an object which is held in the hand... |
| 4 | Middle English | handel | — |
| 5 | Old English | handle | a handle |
| 6 | Old English | handlian | to handle |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | handulōn | to handle |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | handlōną | to take or hold in the hand, seize, grip |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | handuz | hand |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |