English
starless
Starless comes from Middle English sterreles.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterreles
- Englishearliest quotation 1667starless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterreles
- Englishearliest quotation 1667starless
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book III: “A globe far off / It seemed, now seems…”
Formed from star + -less
Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’
…
Proto-West Germanic *sternō
Proto-West Germanic *sterrō
Old English steorra ‘star’
Middle English sterre
English star
Every English word from Middle English sterreles
Today it means
adj Without visible stars.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English sterreles / starless