The story
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁roh₁-(ye-)-ti
- Proto-Germanic*rōaną
- Proto-Germanic*rōþrą
- Proto-West Germanic*rōþr
- Old Englishrōþor
- Middle Englishrother
- Englishrudder
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishrudderless
- English todayrudderlessness
From rudderless + -ness.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.