Dictionary

cashless en · ADJ

Etymology

Etymology tree English cash 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 cashless From cash + -less.

Meanings

1. Operating without the need for cash, such as by accepting nondigital, noncash forms of payment (e.g., chit, cheques, money orders) or (in the 21st century, usually) using digital payment methods (e-payment).
   • cashless payment system
   • The benefits and dangers of the cashless society will become more apparent over the next decade . . . 1998, Danny Kruger, Access Denied?: Preventing Information Exclusion:
   • cashless restaurant
   • The rise of cashless establishments is happening amid continuing hype over the supposed dawn of a “cashless future” and agitation by some very powerful interests that would love to see cash disappear. The credit card companies love it, naturally, and tech industry associations have also pushed for the concept. 2019 August 12, Jay Stanley, “Say No to the “Cashless Future” — and to Cashless Stores”, in ACLU:
   • It demanded taxes, which in a cashless society meant grain, cattle and, most tellingly, labor. 2005, Jane R. Hogan, M. W. Daly, Images of Empire: Photographic Sources for the British in the Sudan:
2. (dated, uncommon) Having no money.
   • When calls are made on cashless penceless men, The case is wonderfully altered then! 1858, William Bownas, Arundines Bostonienses, page 85:
   • They were the same winged messengers that out-run cashless debtors, and cut short lovers' dreams. 1853, The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine:

Forms

Deriveds

cashlessness · cashlessly

Hypernyms

contactless

Synonyms

noncash · moneyless · penniless

Translations (16)

sv kontantfri (operating without the need for cash) · bg безнали́чен (operating without the need for cash) · sl brezgotovinski (operating without the need for cash) · uk безготівко́вий (operating without the need for cash) · hu készpénzmentes (operating without the need for cash) · cs bezhotovostní (operating without the need for cash) · be безная́ўны (operating without the need for cash) · pl bezgotówkowy (operating without the need for cash) · th ไร้เงินสด (operating without the need for cash) · bg безкáсов (operating without the need for cash) · ka უნაღდო (operating without the need for cash) · ja キャッシュレス (operating without the need for cash) · sv kontantlös (operating without the need for cash) · de bargeldlos (operating without the need for cash) · sk bezhotovostný (operating without the need for cash) · ru безнали́чный (operating without the need for cash)