sleeveless

the word "sleeveless" is a transparent compound formed within english. the first element, "sleeve," has ancient germanic origins, evolving from a term for a part of a garment into its modern specific meaning. the suffix "-less," also of old english descent, is a highly productive morpheme that negates or indicates the absence of the noun it attaches to. therefore, the literal construction "sleeve" + "without" directly yields the primary meaning of a garment lacking sleeves. the informal, figurative sense of "pointless" emerged later, drawing an analogy between a useless garment and a futile endeavor.

Structure: sleeve (garment part) + less (without) "sleeve" originates from old english 'slēf, slȳf', likely related to the proto-germanic root meaning 'to slip on'. "less" is a suffix from old english '-lēas', meaning 'devoid of, free from', derived from a proto-germanic word for 'empty'.