dreadless en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈdɹɛdləs/ (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English dredles, dredeles, equivalent to dread + -less.
Meanings
-
Feeling no dread or fear; unafraid.
And to make shew of his dreadlesse magnanimitie, having caused a pan of burning coales to be brought, he saw and suffred his right arme[…]to be parched and wel-nigh rosted-off[…].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:So doubly is distrest twixt ioy and cares / The dreadlesse courage of this Elfin knight, / Hauing escapt so sad ensamples in his sight.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
-
(obsolete) Exempt from danger which causes dread; secure.
Safe in his dreadless den.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most dreadless | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more dreadless | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |