Meanings
- not comparableobsoleteNevertheless.First known use 13th–17th c.
Therfor the Lord seide to Sathan, Lo! he is in thin hond; netheles kepe thou his lijf.
1395, John Wycliffe, Bible, Job II1 more example
Now by my foule, Diggon, I lament / The haplesle mischiefe that has thee hent; / Nethelesse thou feest my lowly faile, / That froward Fortune doth ever availe [...].
1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepherd's Calendar
Origin
- Middle Englishnetheles
- Englishnetheless
Inherited from Middle English netheles; by surface analysis, ne + the + less. Compare earlier natheless.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
netheless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/netheless
“netheless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/netheless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “netheless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/netheless.
Source: netheless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.