English
feckless
Feckless comes from Scots feckless ‘ineffective’, from feck ‘value’, and ultimately from Latin effectus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffectus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400effect
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Early Scotsmodernfekaphetic form of effect
- Scotsc. 1450–presentfeck‘value’
- Scots, derivedc. 1450–presentfeckless‘ineffective’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffectus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400effect
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Early Scotsmodernfekaphetic form of effect
- Scotsc. 1450–presentfeck‘value’
- Scots, derivedc. 1450–presentfeckless‘ineffective’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960same form
Earliest quotation: 1960, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, Railway Development in Preston—2: “This was the West Lancashire Railway, an ambitious but…”
Formed from effect + -less
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
…
Latin efficiō ‘accomplish’
Latin effectus ‘an effect’
Old French effect
Middle English effect
English effect
Linked words
through Latin effectus
through Middle English effect
Today it means
adj Lacking purpose.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin effectus / feckless