wyfles

Middle English

Alternative forms

• wiflees, wifles, wijfeles, wyflees, wyveles, wyyfles

Etymology

Either from Old English wīflēas or a new formation from wyf (“wife”) +‎ -les.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwiːflɛːs/, /ˈwiːflɛs/

Adjective

wyfles (rare)

1. Wifeless; having no wife.
   • 1470–1483 (date produced), Thom̃s Malleorre [i.e., Thomas Malory], “[Launcelot du Lake]”, in Le Morte Darthur (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 104, verso, lines 25–26:

     […] ye that ar a knyght wyveles · that ye woll nat love ſom mayden oþ̀[er] jantylwoman […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (religion) Bound to celibacy.

Descendants

• English: wifeless, wiveless
• Yola: wooveless

References

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