English
painless
Painless comes from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paynles
- Englishearliest quotation 1924painless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paynles
- Englishearliest quotation 1924painless
Earliest quotation: 1924, Don Herold, So Human: “There are now washless dishes, painless razors, painless shoes,…”
Formed from pain + -less
Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
…
Proto-Hellenic *kʷoinā́
Ancient Greek ποινή ‘bloodmoney’
Latin poena ‘punishment’
Middle English peyne
English pain
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
penalty, poetry, punishment, poem, poet, punish, pine, painful, titanium, penal, punitive, subpoena, impunity, whey, onomatopoeia, 21 more
Today it means
adj Free from pain; without pain or trouble.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- / painless