Where does “palpless” come from?

palpless (English) comes from English less, from Middle English les, from Old English lēas, from Proto-Germanic *laus.

palpless (English): Without a palp

Definitions

  1. Without a palp

Ancestry of “palpless”, step by step

palpless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

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

via English palp

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpalpA pedipalp, an appendage found near the mouth in...
2Latinpalpōto touch softly, stroke, pat
3Latinsuffixed to nouns or adjectives. Originally a-stem nouns. Later extended to nouns with other stems. Forms regular first-conjugation verbs
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots
Every word from Proto-Germanic *lausEvery word from Old English lēasEvery word from Middle English les