English
childless
Childless comes from Middle English childles ‘not having had children’, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz ‘fetus’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gelt-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kelþaz‘fetus’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kilþreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċild‘child’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500child‘a child’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500childles‘not having had children’
- Englishearliest quotation 1899childless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kelþaz‘fetus’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kilþreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċild‘child’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500child‘a child’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500childles‘not having had children’
- Englishearliest quotation 1899childless
Earliest quotation: 1899, – May 5, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells: “I am a lone wolf, a solitary man, wandering…”
Formed from child + -less
Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- ‘womb’
Proto-Germanic *kelþaz ‘womb’
Proto-West Germanic *kilþ
Old English ċild
Middle English child ‘a child’
English child
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up, amass’
cold, clean, cloud, globe, cluster, gel, jelly, chill, clout, clot, gelatin, clough, gelato, ganglion, glebe, clod, globus, klutz, globulin, 46 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gelt-
through Old English ċild ‘child’
Today it means
adj Not having any children.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gelt- / childless