Etymology

listless

L1I1S1T1L1E1S1S1

Today it means: Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness. Full definition →

Middle English lystles
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromlystles
  2. English todaylistless

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) + -less. Compare German lustlos and Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.