footlesslyadv.

Brit.

/ˈfʊtləsli/, U.S.

/ˈfʊtləsli/

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: footless adj., -ly suffix².

Etymology: < footless adj. + -ly suffix².

1. Irish English. So as to be unable to stand upright. Only in footlessly drunk, incapably drunk. Cf. footless adv., legless adv. rare.

ΚΠ

1909 National Advocate Aug. (National Temperance Soc.) 116/1 Scornfully referring to his brother inebriates as ‘tanks’ and ‘bums’—and that at a time when he is footlessly drunk himself!

1964 Connaught Tel. 29 Aug. 5 They were on a bit of a spree the day before. They were not footlessly drunk but they were drunk.

2. Without firm basis, support, or footing. More generally: aimlessly, without direction; randomly. Cf. footless adj. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > unintentionally or involuntarily > aimlessly

about1638

designlessly1659

aimlessly1818

purposelessly1840

round1848

divaguely1857

objectlessly1860

motivelessly1867

unmeaningly1871

footlessly1916

1916 H. W. Hill New Public Health (rev. ed.) xiii. 155 So long as governments permit infection to go unchecked, relying footlessly on physicians' reports alone, the persons who unwittingly become infected should have rights in suits of damages against such governments.

1930 Terril (Iowa) Rec. 29 May Old men climbing into the motor bus..to go to the cemetery and there to wander about footlessly reading the names on old tombstones.

1951 A. Polonsky World Above ii. v. 114 They passed here and there a despondent soul wandering footlessly about, waiting for nothing and going nowhere.

1967 J. W. Macfarlane in S. M. Farber & R. H. L. Wilson Teen-age Marriage & Divorce 50 The relationship between parents and their impact upon children, regarding which a superabundance has been written..extolling parenthood and footlessly damning parents.

2003 W. Jovanovich Temper of West 251 I recall footlessly saying to Fritz, 'Wouldn't it be perfect if Beethoven had written the Eroica in this very house'.

3. Of movement: without (apparent) use of the foot or feet. Often somewhat fanciful or poetic.

ΚΠ

1965 M. Young Miss MacIntosh, my Darling lxi. 819 There were places of long, matted grasses drifting where only the birds stepped, footlessly as if their wings skimmed above the clouds.

1974 A. Wiseman Crackpot iv. 94 She pulled herself out from behind her constricting desk,..and moved, somehow footlessly, to the front of the class.

2015 E. Maddern Snowdonia Folk Tales i. 48 Headless, footlessly I stride, nothing's child, never born.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	footlessly
释义	footlesslyadv. Brit. /ˈfʊtləsli/, U.S. /ˈfʊtləsli/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: footless adj., -ly suffix². Etymology: < footless adj. + -ly suffix². 1. Irish English. So as to be unable to stand upright. Only in footlessly drunk, incapably drunk. Cf. footless adv., legless adv. rare. ΚΠ 1909 National Advocate Aug. (National Temperance Soc.) 116/1 Scornfully referring to his brother inebriates as ‘tanks’ and ‘bums’—and that at a time when he is footlessly drunk himself! 1964 Connaught Tel. 29 Aug. 5 They were on a bit of a spree the day before. They were not footlessly drunk but they were drunk. 2. Without firm basis, support, or footing. More generally: aimlessly, without direction; randomly. Cf. footless adj. 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > unintentionally or involuntarily > aimlessly about1638 designlessly1659 aimlessly1818 purposelessly1840 round1848 divaguely1857 objectlessly1860 motivelessly1867 unmeaningly1871 footlessly1916 1916 H. W. Hill New Public Health (rev. ed.) xiii. 155 So long as governments permit infection to go unchecked, relying footlessly on physicians' reports alone, the persons who unwittingly become infected should have rights in suits of damages against such governments. 1930 Terril (Iowa) Rec. 29 May Old men climbing into the motor bus..to go to the cemetery and there to wander about footlessly reading the names on old tombstones. 1951 A. Polonsky World Above ii. v. 114 They passed here and there a despondent soul wandering footlessly about, waiting for nothing and going nowhere. 1967 J. W. Macfarlane in S. M. Farber & R. H. L. Wilson Teen-age Marriage & Divorce 50 The relationship between parents and their impact upon children, regarding which a superabundance has been written..extolling parenthood and footlessly damning parents. 2003 W. Jovanovich Temper of West 251 I recall footlessly saying to Fritz, 'Wouldn't it be perfect if Beethoven had written the Eroica in this very house'. 3. Of movement: without (apparent) use of the foot or feet. Often somewhat fanciful or poetic. ΚΠ 1965 M. Young Miss MacIntosh, my Darling lxi. 819 There were places of long, matted grasses drifting where only the birds stepped, footlessly as if their wings skimmed above the clouds. 1974 A. Wiseman Crackpot iv. 94 She pulled herself out from behind her constricting desk,..and moved, somehow footlessly, to the front of the class. 2015 E. Maddern Snowdonia Folk Tales i. 48 Headless, footlessly I stride, nothing's child, never born. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adv.1909
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