maillessadj.
/ˈmeɪlləs/, U.S. /ˈmeɪ(l)ləs/ rare in later use.
Lacking mail-armour; not protected with mail.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [adjective] > clad in or protected by armour > not
armourlessa1398
unharnesseda1513
unpanoplied1787
unmailed1799
mailless1817
unarmoured1873
1817 W. Scott Harold iii. viii. 91 Unshielded, mail-less, on he goes.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold II. ix. iii. 316 Let each shaft be aimed at whatever space in my mailless body I leave unguarded.
1868 W. C. Bennett Fall of Harald Hardrada in Proposals & Contrib. Ballad Hist. Eng. 21 Speaks grim Tosti, ‘Mailless shall we meet them?’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1817