bootless

bootless

English

Etymology 1

boot +‎ -less

Adjective

bootless (not comparable)

1. without boots

Etymology 2

From Middle English boteles, botles, from Old English bōtlēas, equivalent to boot (“profit”) +‎ -less.

Alternative forms

• boteless

Adjective

bootless (comparative more bootless, superlative most bootless)

1. profitless; pointless; unavailing
   • 1592–1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet XXIX

     When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, / I all alone beweep my outcast state / And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries

   • 1844, Sir John William Kaye, Peregrine Pultuney: or, Life in India, page 251:

     The lieutenant tried the handle again, but still his efforts were quite bootless. He pushed and kicked, but the door was a strong one.

Synonyms

• fruitless

Derived terms

• bootlessly
• bootlessness