Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “worthless” come from?

Worthless derives from Middle English worthles, from Old English weorþlēas, a compound of weorþ (worth, value) and lēas (lacking, devoid of).

worthless (English): Having no worth or use; without value

Definitions

  1. Having no worth or use; without value

Ancestry of “worthless”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishworthles—
2Old Englishweorþlēasworthless

Words derived from “worthless”

  • worthlessness
  • worthlessly
Every word from Old English weorþlēas →