English
scatheless
Scatheless comes from Middle English scatheles ‘unscathed’, and goes back to scathe ‘damage, harm’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scathe‘damage, harm’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500scatheles‘unscathed’
- Englishearliest quotation 1884scatheless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scathe‘damage, harm’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500scatheles‘unscathed’
- Englishearliest quotation 1884scatheless
Earliest quotation: 1884, H. Rider Haggard: “He felt like a man who has just come…”
Formed from scathe + -less
Proto-Germanic *skaþô ‘damage, scathe’
Old Norse skaði ‘damage, harm’
Middle English scath
English scathe
Every English word from Middle English scathe
Today it means
adj Without scathe or harm; without mischief, injury, or damage; unharmed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English scathe / scatheless