Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wastelessness” come from?

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

wastelessness (English): Absence of waste

Definitions

  1. Absence of waste

Ancestry of “wastelessness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwastelessWithout waste
2EnglishlessTo a smaller extent or degree; comparative form...
3Middle Englishlesfalse; lying; deceptive; falsehood; a lie
4Old Englishlēasfalse, lax; false, void, loose; devoid of, loose...
5Proto-Germanic*laus—
Every word from Proto-Germanic *laus →