Where does “legless” come from?
Legless derives from Middle English legles, formed from leg and the suffix -les meaning without or lacking.
legless (English): Without legs; Too drunk to stand
Definitions
- Without legs; Too drunk to stand
Ancestry of “legless”, step by step
legless traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English leg
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | leg | A limb or appendage that an animal uses for... |
| 2 | Middle English | leg | leg, limb; shank, shin; leg |
| 3 | Old Norse | leggr | leg, stem |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | lagjaz | leg, thigh |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (ǝ)lak- | — |
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 | — |
via Middle English legles
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | legles | — |