bodiless

the word 'bodiless' is a transparent english compound formed from the native germanic noun 'body' and the suffix '-less'. the old english root 'bodig' is of uncertain origin, though it solidly replaced the earlier word 'lich' to mean the physical frame. the suffix '-lēas', meaning 'devoid of', is a common and productive element in english for creating adjectives that denote an absence. therefore, the literal construction 'body-less' directly and logically yields the modern meanings of lacking a physical form or substantial existence, moving from a concrete absence to more abstract, often spiritual or spectral, connotations.

Structure: body (physical form) + less (without) body (from old english bodig, meaning the physical structure of a person or animal). less (from old english -lēas, an adjective-forming suffix meaning 'devoid of, free from').