housles

Middle English

Alternative forms

• houseles, houselesse, houslese, howsles

Etymology

Possibly from an Old English *hūslēas, from Proto-West Germanic *hūsalaus, from Proto-Germanic *hūsalausaz.

Alternatively, but less likely, this word may have been formed anew, possibly as a calque of Old Norse húslauss or Middle Dutch huusloos; in any case, equivalent to hous +‎ -les.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhuːslɛːs/, /ˈhuːslɛs/

Adjective

housles (rare)

1. Homeless; having no home.
2. (cooking, of snails) Shellless.

Descendants

• English: houseless

References

• “hǒuslēs, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.