English
voiceless
Voiceless comes from Middle English voys ‘the voice of a particular person’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- ‘to speak, to sound out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wekʷ-‘to speak, to sound out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wṓkʷs‘voice, speech’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wōks‘voice’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōcem
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400voiz
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500voys‘the voice of a particular person’
- English1500–presentvoice
- Englishearliest quotation 1890voiceless
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wekʷ-‘to speak, to sound out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wṓkʷs‘voice, speech’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wōks‘voice’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōcem
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400voiz
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500voys‘the voice of a particular person’
- English1500–presentvoice
- Englishearliest quotation 1890voiceless
Earliest quotation: 1890, Albert Kimsey Owen: “How people, with any pretence to decency or cleanliness,…”
A compound of voice + -less
Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- ‘to speak’
…
Latin vōx
Latin vōcem
Anglo-Norman voiz
Middle English voice
English voice
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- ‘to speak, to sound out’
epic, wight, whit, epos, 31 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs ‘voice, speech’
vocalist, vocally, vocalize, 27 more
through Proto-Italic *wōks ‘voice’
invite, invitation, vocal, vie, invoke, vox, vouch, invocation, vociferous, 30 more
Today it means
adj Lacking a voice, without vocal sound.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- / voiceless