English
lifeless
Lifeless comes from Middle English lyfles ‘lacking life’, from Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *lībą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą‘body’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb‘body’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līf‘life’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150līflēas
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyfles‘lacking life’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588lifeless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą‘body’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb‘body’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līf‘life’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150līflēas
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyfles‘lacking life’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588lifeless
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “a farther paſſion feeds my thoughts, With ceaſeleſſe and…”
Formed from life + -less
Proto-Germanic *lībą ‘life’
Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’
Old English līf
Middle English lyf
English life
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’
live, living, lib, eleventh, lipid, lipa, 15 more
through Proto-Germanic *lībaną ‘to remain’
leave, twelve, eleven, lave, 9 more
through Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’
through Old English līf ‘life’
Today it means
adj inanimate; having no life
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *lībą / lifeless