Where does “staveless” come from?
staveless (English) comes from English less, from Middle English les, from Old English lēas, from Proto-Germanic *laus.
staveless (English): staffless; Without vertical staves
Definitions
- staffless; Without vertical staves
Ancestry of “staveless”, step by step
staveless 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 stave
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | stave | One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or... |
| 2 | Polish | staw | pond; joint; genitive plural of stawa |
| 3 | Old Polish | staw | — |