Where does “rodentless” come from?
rodentless (English) comes from English less, from Middle English les, from Old English lēas, from Proto-Germanic *laus.
rodentless (English): Without rodents
Ancestry of “rodentless”, step by step
rodentless 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 rodent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | rodent | A mammal of the order Rodentia, characterized by... |
| 2 | Latin | rōdēns | gnawing |
| 3 | Latin | rōdō | to gnaw, nibble, bite; eat or waste away, corrode, consume; erode |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₃d- | to scrape |