Etymologically
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feckless

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 12 October 2026 at 02:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɛkləs/, /ˈfɛklɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is Scots, formed from feck “effect, value, vigour”[2][3][4][5][6] and the suffix -less.[2][3][4][6] Feck is a Scottish shortened form of effect.[2][3][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of things, ineffective or valueless; of people, lacking vigour or capacity (1599).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline credits Thomas Carlyle with popularizing the word, while its opposite, feckful, stayed in dialect.[4] Besides weakness and ineffectiveness, it now often implies irresponsibility.[2][5][6]

Timeline

  • late 15th century – feck, effect, value.[4][3]
  • about 1585 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.[5]
  • 1599 – ineffective, feeble.[7][3]
  • 1862 – fecklessness, fecklessly.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Weak and ineffective; lacking purpose or vitality.
  2. Careless and irresponsible.

Word family

  • fecklessly
  • fecklessness
  • effect

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press