Where does “perfumeless” come from?
perfumeless (English) comes from English less, from Middle English les, from Old English lēas, from Proto-Germanic *laus.
perfumeless (English): Without perfume
Ancestry of “perfumeless”, step by step
perfumeless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 English perfume
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | perfume | A pleasant smell; the scent, odor, or odoriferous... |
| 2 | Middle French | parfum | perfume |
| 3 | Latin | per- | Used to make adjectives or verbs that are "very"... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | peri- | — |