sleeveless

English

Alternative forms

• sleaveless

Etymology

From Middle English slevelees, sleveles, from Old English slīeflēas (“sleeveless”), equivalent to sleeve +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

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• Audio (US):

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Adjective

sleeveless (not comparable)

1. Of a garment, having no sleeves.
2. (obsolete) Wanting a cover, pretext, or palliation; unreasonable; profitless; useless.

   a sleeveless errand

   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], line 8:

     might send that Greekish / whore-masterly villain with the sleeve back to the / dissembling luxurious drab of a sleeveless errand.

   • 1738-1741, William Warburton, The Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated

     The vexation of a sleeveless errand.

Translations

of a garment, having no sleeves

Armenian: անթեւ (hy) (antʻew) Catalan: sense mànigues Chinese: Cantonese: 冇袖 (mou5 zau6) Mandarin: (please verify) 無袖 / 无袖 (wú xiù) Dutch: mouwloos (nl) Finnish: hihaton (fi) German: ärmellos (de) Greek: αμάνικος (el) (amánikos) Hungarian: ujjatlan (hu) Ingrian: hiatoin Irish: gan mhuinchillí Korean: 민소매 (ko) (minsomae), 나시 (nasi) Norwegian: Bokmål: ermeløs Nynorsk: ermelaus Old English: slīeflēas Persian: رکابی (fa) (rekâbi) Russian: безрука́вный (ru) (bezrukávnyj) Spanish: sin mangas Swedish: ärmlös (sv) Welsh: dilewys