valueless
Meaning
Having no value, worth, or usefulness.
Structure
Usage
The contract was rendered valueless after the key clause was removed.
He spent years collecting what turned out to be valueless trinkets.
Without the signature, the certificate is completely valueless.
Etymology
The adjective "valueless" is a transparent English compound formed by appending the native suffix "-less" to the noun "value". The noun "value" entered English from Old French value, the feminine past participle of valoir (to be worth), which itself derives from the Latin verb valēre, meaning "to be strong, be well, be of worth". The Proto-Indo-European root \wal-, meaning "to be strong", underpins this lineage. The suffix "-less" descends from the Old English adjective lēas, meaning "free from, devoid of". Thus, the literal construction "without worth" directly and logically yields the modern abstract meaning of having no monetary, practical, or intrinsic merit.
Analysis
- value: From Latin valere (to be strong, be worth), via Old French value. In this word, it functions as the core noun root meaning "worth". - less: From Old English -lēas (devoid of, free from), a suffix used to form adjectives meaning "without".