Meanings
craftless1
craftless2
- not comparableWithout craft; boatless, etc.
Now one had come to see these craftless rivers, empty stations and poverty instead of wealth.
1926, Alec Tweedie, An Adventurous Journey (Russia-Siberia-China)
Origin
craftless · adjective
- Proto-West Germanic*kraftulaus
- Old Englishcræftlēas“artless, unskilful, innocent, simple, inexpert”
- Middle Englishcraftles
- Englishcraftless
From Middle English craftles, creftleas, from Old English cræftlēas (“artless, unskilful, innocent, simple, inexpert”), from Proto-West Germanic *kraftulaus, equivalent to craft + -less. Cognate with West Frisian krêftleas (“powerless”), Dutch krachteloos (“powerless”), German kraftlos (“powerless”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →craftless · adjective
- Proto-Germanic*krafjaną
- Proto-Germanic*kraftuz
- Proto-West Germanic*kraftu
- Old Englishcræft
- Middle Englishcraft
- Englishcraft
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishcraftless
Cite this entry
craftless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/craftless
“craftless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/craftless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “craftless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/craftless.
Source: craftless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.