Where does “whipless” come from?
whipless (English) comes from English less, from Middle English les, from Old English lēas, from Proto-Germanic *laus.
whipless (English): Without a whip; Having been deprived of party...
Definitions
- Without a whip; Having been deprived of party...
Ancestry of “whipless”, step by step
whipless 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 whip
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | whip | A lash; a pliant, flexible instrument, such as a... |
| 2 | Middle English | whippen | — |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | wippen | to swing, leap, dance, oscillate |