matchless en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From match + -less, modelled after or partly continuing Middle English makeless (“having no peer or equal, matchless”), equivalent to make + -less. Compare Swedish makalös (“incomparable, matchless”), Danish mageløs (“matchless”).
Meanings
-
Having no match; without equal.
[T]he Prince was to declare the victor in the first day's tourney, who should receive as prize a warhorse of exquisite beauty and matchless strength.
1819, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 8, in Ivanhoe:It was not his matchless talent that exalted Koufax beyond his greatest contemporaries so much as it was his knowledge that character was not connected to talent.
2002, Daniel Okrent, "Books: A Prince of a Pitcher" (Review of: Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy), Time, 30 Sept.
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Having no mate.
In this comedy, a matchmaker has a matchless daughter. Try as he might, he cannot seem to find anyone for her.
2010 June 1, Sandra Brennan, “Movies: The Flying Matchmaker (1966)”, in nytimes.com, retrieved 13 Sep 2010:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more matchless | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most matchless | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
unmatchless · matchlessness · matchlessly
Synonyms
unattached (having no mate) · incomparable (without equal) · single (having no mate) · unsurpassed (without equal) · unparalleled (without equal) · peerless (without equal) · unmatched (without equal) · unrivaled (without equal) · unequaled (without equal) · nonpareil (without equal)
Translations (21)
ka უბადლო (without equal) · az misilsiz (without equal) · da mageløs (without equal) · ka სწორუპოვარი (without equal) · hu utánozhatatlan (without equal) · hu páratlan (without equal) · ja 冠絶する (without equal) · hu egyedülálló (without equal) · bg безподобен (without equal) · ota اشسز (without equal) · pt sem igual (without equal) · ka შეუდარებელი (without equal) · az bənzərsiz (without equal) · sv makalös (without equal) · ja 無敵の (without equal) · nl onvergelijkelijk (without equal) · eo senegala (without equal) · bg несравним (without equal) · te సాటిలేని (without equal) · ru несравне́нный (without equal) · mi kei tua o kapenga (without equal)