Etymology

wifeless

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Today it means: Having no wife; unmarried or celibate. Full definition →

Middle English wyfles ← Old English wīflēas
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromwīflēas“wifeless”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromwyfles
  3. English todaywifeless

From Middle English wyfles, wifles, possibly from Old English wīflēas (“wifeless”), equivalent to wife + -less.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.