Meanings
alternative sleaveless
- not comparablebusinessOf a garment, having no sleeves.
She wore a short surcoat of scarlet, cut low around the shoulders, sleeveless, reaching just below her hips, like the tabards worn by medieval heralds. Over it she wore a laced-edged cotta.
1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 25 - not comparableobsoleteWanting a cover, pretext, or palliation; unreasonable; profitless; useless.
a sleeveless errand
2 more examples
might send that Greekish / whore-masterly villain with the sleeve back to the / dissembling luxurious drab of a sleeveless errand.
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], line 81738-1741, William Warburton, The Divine Legation of Moses Demonstrated The vexation of a sleeveless errand.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving no sleeves
adjectiveunproductive of success
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishslīeflēas“sleeveless”
- Middle Englishslevelees
- Englishsleeveless
From Middle English slevelees, sleveles, from Old English slīeflēas (“sleeveless”), equivalent to sleeve + -less.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian безръкавен, без ръкави
- безръкавен (bezrăkaven)of a garment, having no sleeves
- без ръкави (bez răkavi)of a garment, having no sleeves
Catalan sense mànigues
- sense màniguesof a garment, having no sleeves
Chinese Cantonese 冇袖
- 冇袖 (mou⁵ zau⁶)of a garment, having no sleeves
Dutch mouwloos
- mouwloosof a garment, having no sleeves
Finnish hihaton
- hihatonof a garment, having no sleeves
French sans manches
- sans manchesof a garment, having no sleeves
German ärmellos
- ärmellosof a garment, having no sleeves
Greek αμάνικος
- αμάνικος (amánikos)of a garment, having no sleeves
Hungarian ujjatlan
- ujjatlanof a garment, having no sleeves
Irish gan mhuinchillí
- gan mhuinchillíof a garment, having no sleeves
Italian senza maniche
- senza manicheof a garment, having no sleeves
Korean 민소매, 나시
- 민소매 (minsomae)of a garment, having no sleeves
- 나시 (nasi)of a garment, having no sleeves
Norwegian Bokmål ermeløs
- ermeløsof a garment, having no sleeves
Persian رکابی
- رکابی (rekâbi)of a garment, having no sleeves
Russian безрука́вный
- безрука́вный (bezrukávnyj)of a garment, having no sleeves
Spanish sin mangas
- sin mangasof a garment, having no sleeves
Swedish ärmlös
- ärmlösof a garment, having no sleeves
Ukrainian безрука́вний, безрука́вий
- безрука́вний (bezrukávnyj)of a garment, having no sleeves
- безрука́вий (bezrukávyj)of a garment, having no sleeves
Welsh dilewys
- dilewysof a garment, having no sleeves
Cite this entry
sleeveless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeveless
“sleeveless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeveless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sleeveless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleeveless.
Source: sleeveless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.