English
bottomless
Bottomless comes from Middle English botemles ‘lacking a bottom’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘deep’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-‘deep’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗn‘bottom’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*butmaz‘bottom’reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500botme‘the bottom portion of a ship's hull, or the line of wood running along it’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500botemles‘lacking a bottom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954bottomless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-‘deep’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗn‘bottom’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*butmaz‘bottom’reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500botme‘the bottom portion of a ship's hull, or the line of wood running along it’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500botemles‘lacking a bottom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1954bottomless
Earliest quotation: 1954, Trevor Holloway, Canada's Transcontinental Routes: “The vast swamps of Southern Ontario proved a grim…”
Formed from bottom + -less
Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn
Proto-Germanic *butmaz ‘bottom’
Proto-West Germanic *butm
Old English botm ‘bottom’
Middle English botme
English bottom
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘deep’
deep, depth, dumb, dave, fundamental, dip, deaf, dove, dub, butte, typhus, fonds, profundity, doof, fundus, 20 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn ‘bottom’
fund, foundation, founder, fond, bourne, 17 more
through Middle English botme ‘the bottom portion of a ship's hull, or the…’
Today it means
adj Having no bottom.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- / bottomless