Where does “letterless” come from?

letterless (English) comes from English letter, from Middle English letter, from Old French letre, from Latin littera, from Latin lītera, from Old Latin leitera, from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH-, from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- — to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

letterless (English): Without the presence or use of alphabetical...

Definitions

  1. Without the presence or use of alphabetical...

Ancestry of “letterless”, step by step

letterless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English letter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishletterA symbol in an alphabet; A written or printed...
2Middle Englishletter—
3Old Frenchletreletter
4Latinlitteraa letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,...
5Latinlītera—
6Old Latinleitera—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂leyH-to smear
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleyh₂-to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

via English less

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlessTo a smaller extent or degree; comparative form...
2Middle Englishlesfalse; lying; deceptive; falsehood; a lie
3Old Englishlēasfalse, lax; false, void, loose; devoid of, loose...
4Proto-Germanic*laus—

Words derived from “letterless”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH- →Every word from Old Latin leitera →