Where does “starchlessness” come from?

starchlessness (English) comes from English starchless, from English starch, from Middle English starche, from Middle English sterch, from Middle English stark, from Old English stearc, from Proto-West Germanic stark, from Proto-Germanic starkaz — to be stiff; rigid; rigid, stiff.

starchlessness (English): Absence of starch

Definitions

  1. Absence of starch

Ancestry of “starchlessness”, step by step

starchlessness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English starchless

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstarchlessWithout starch
2EnglishstarchA widely diffused vegetable substance found...
3Middle Englishstarche
4Middle Englishsterchstiff
5Middle Englishstark
6Old Englishstearcsevere, stern, harsh; stiff, rigid, not bending,...
7Proto-West Germanicstarkstiff, stark
8Proto-Germanicstarkaz
9Proto-Indo-European(s)terg-to be stiff; rigid; rigid, stiff

via English Ness

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNessAn Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa
2Middle Englishnesse
3Old Englishnæsnot, not at all; not; first/third-person singular...
4Proto-Germanicnasjąfoothill; headland; cape
5Proto-Indo-Europeannéh₂snose
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)terg-