springlessadj.
/ˈsprɪŋlᵻs/, U.S. /ˈsprɪŋlᵻs/ 1. Lacking a natural spring or springs (spring n.1 1c, 3a). Also in figurative contexts.rare before 19th cent.
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the world > matter > liquid > dryness > [adjective] > arid or without water or moisture > without a spring of water
springlessa1682
a1682 T. Taylor Truth's Innocency & Simplicity (1697) 328 You spend your Money for poor empty Shells, And go to Drink at Springless empty Wells.
1743 A. Hill Fanciad i. 3 Thou, length'ning Stream, that drawn through springless Lands, Must flow self-deep'ning, or be lost in Sands!
1832 Morning Chron. 21 Nov. His previous sort of ourang-outang existence, in the pathless forests, or in the springless deserts.
1876 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera VI. lxxii. 380 As the seed by the drought,..so the soul..athirst in the springless sand.
1907 Baily's Mag. July 19/1 In a springless county..often the green grass has turned earth brown for want of water.
1949 Social Sci. 24 23/1 Well drilling appliances brought water to the largely springless and streamless plains.
2016 R. Hurst Hiking through Hist.: Colorado 97 The difficulty of raising cattle on the springless land..led to its new status as public property.
a. Without motive power. Obsolete. rare.
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the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [adjective] > having (specific) mechanical power > having no motive power
springless1684
1684 T. Burnet Theory of Earth ii. iv. 213 Those were springless Machines, that act only by some external cause.
b. Of a person or a person's nature: lacking vitality; spiritless. Obsolete. rare.
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the mind > emotion > fear > cowardice or pusillanimity > [adjective] > spiritless
comfortless1387
weak-hearta1425
unheartyc1440
sprightlessa1522
blate1535
weak-hearted1544
tame1563
spiritless1595
dismettled1660
exanimated1689
poor-spirited1749
milksoppish1852
unantagonistic1858
springless1869
spunkless1882
milksoppy1886
gritless1892
1869 Galaxy Mar. 328 He wrote with the tepid lassitude of a fibreless and springless nature.
1885 R. L. Stevenson Prince Otto ii. i. 71 A springless, putty-hearted, cowering coward!
3. Of a piece of furniture, a vehicle, etc.: lacking springs. Also (now rarely): lacking spring; rigid.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [adjective] > having springs or not having springs
springless1807
1807 R. Wilson Diary 7 Sept. in Life Gen. Sir R. Wilson (1862) II. viii. 366 The rapidity and violence of the motion in my springless telaga gave me an excruciating headache.
1860 All Year Round 15 Sept. 550/2 The heavy vehicle..which..clatters by, as springless as an artillery tumbril.
1901 H. P. B. Lynch Armenia I. x. 133 Our luggage accompanied us in a springless waggon.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! v. 65 True, the springless Chinese bed I slept on could not compare with my Beautyrest.
2013 Guardian (Nexis) 9 Sept. 40 Colin Richmond's set of mismatched chairs, bare walls and springless couches.
4. Deprived of or lacking the power of vigorous, energetic movement; (esp. of a step, walk, etc.) lifeless, lethargic.
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > sudden movement > [adjective] > deprived of the power of springing
springless1823
1823 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 14 314/2 They remind me of a mutchkin of wasps in a bottle,..helpless, hopeless, stingless, wingless, springless.
1865 E. A. Murray John Alston's Vow II. xxiv. 182 She wandered with springless step about the house.
1916 Outlook 8 Mar. 577/2 We heard the clump, clump, of a springless bound foot in the courtyard out side.
1934 B. Lehmann Rumour of Heaven i. ii. 29 His walk became an old man's springless shuffle.
2007 B. G. Botti Beyond Tether vii. 157 His springless leaps became considerably short of the mark.
5. Having no spring season. Also (and in earliest use) figurative.
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the world > time > period > year > season > [adjective] > spring > having no spring
springless1834
1834 Monthly Traveller Mar. 108/2 'Twas..The springless and summerless soul declining.
1872 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 1 298 Several springless years engendered a famine.
1909 Spectator 5 June 396/2 Springless though my prospect lies, I see God's sunshine when your eyes Smile welcome.
1927 E. Sitwell Rustic Elegies 82 Delivered from that springless frost.
1996 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 Apr. f5 One of the few sure signs of spring in this otherwise springless year.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1682