Where does “형편없다” come from?

형편없다 (Korean) comes from Korean 없다, from Middle Korean 없다.

형편없다 (Korean): (to be) terrible, awful

Definitions

  1. (to be) terrible, awful

Ancestry of “형편없다”, step by step

형편없다 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Korean 없다

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean없다to have none; lacking; nonexistent; to die
2Middle Korean없다—

via Korean 형편(形便)

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean형편(形便)—
Every word from Middle Korean 없다 →Every word from Korean 없다 →