wireless

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈwaɪɚ.ləs/ UK /ˈwaɪə.ləs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
operating without connecting wires, or (chiefly British) a radio

They listened to the news on the wireless each evening.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · operating without... radiocordless

Opposites

wired cabled

Word family

Forms wirelessed

Related forms wire

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

wireless telegraphy
the sending of telegraph messages by radio signals

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From wire + -less ('without'); wire is from Old English wīr ('metal thread'), from Proto-Germanic *wīraz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- ('to turn, twist'). The 'radio' sense dates from c. 1900.

wīr Old English *weh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# wireless

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈwaɪɚ.ləs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwaɪə.ləs/

## Meanings
1. operating without connecting wires, or (chiefly British) a radio

## Examples
- They listened to the news on the wireless each evening.

## Synonyms
- radio
- cordless

## Antonyms
- wired
- cabled

## Related Forms
- wire

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wīr
- Root: *weh₁-
- Affix: -less - without

## Etymology
From wire + -less ('without'); wire is from Old English wīr ('metal thread'), from Proto-Germanic *wīraz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- ('to turn, twist'). The 'radio' sense dates from c. 1900.

## AI Etymology
Wireless comes from wire + -less ('without'); wire is from Old English wīr ('metal thread'), from Proto-Germanic *wīraz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁- ('to turn, twist'). The 'radio' sense dates from c. 1900. In current use it is an adjective and noun meaning "operating without connecting wires, or (chiefly British) a radio". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The suffix -less marks lack, absence, or deprivation. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English wīr and Proto-Indo-European *weh₁-. Related English forms include wire. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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