aimless

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English aim

Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der.

Proto-Germanic *leusaną

Proto-Germanic *lausaz

Proto-Germanic *-lausaz

Proto-West Germanic *-laus

Old English -lēas

Middle English -les

English -less

English aimless

From aim + -less.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪm.ləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪmləs

Adjective

aimless (comparative more aimless, superlative most aimless)

1. Without aim, purpose, or direction.

   an aimless life

   • 1910, Albert Davis Mead, A method of lobster culture:

     In the first few days of the fourth stage the lobsterlings are good swimmers — this is their "redeeming vice" — but the swimming is strong and bears no comparison to the aimless drifting movement characteristic of larval stages.

Derived terms

• aimlessly
• aimlessness
• nonaimless

Translations

without aim

• Bulgarian: безцелен (bg) (bezcelen)
• Czech: bezcílný m
• Dutch: doelloos (nl)
• Esperanto: sencela
• Estonian: sihitu
• Finnish: suunnaton (fi)
• German: planlos (de), ziellos (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἄστοχος (ástokhos), εἰκαῖος (eikaîos)

• Irish: fánach
• Māori: pakoke, paoke, makihoi
• Odia: ଲକ୍ଷ୍ୟହୀନ (or) (lakṣyahina)
• Polish: bezcelowy (pl)
• Portuguese: sem rumo
• Romanian: fără scop, fără plan
• Russian: бесце́льный (ru) (bescélʹnyj)
• Spanish: sin rumbo, sin objeto, sin objetivo, sin propósito, sin rumbo fijo
• Telugu: అగమ్యగోచరము (te) (agamyagōcaramu)
• Turkish: amaçsız (tr)
• Uzbek: maqsadsiz (uz)

Further reading

• “aimless”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “aimless”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• melissa, Melissa, misseal, Salemis, mesails, Esmails, Maisels, seismal, Milases, samiels