[1815–25; brief (n.) + -less]This word is first recorded in the period 1815–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: aesthetic, artifact, reamer, treadmill, welterweight-less an adjective suffix meaning “without” (childless; peerless), and in adjectives derived from verbs, indicating failure or inability to performor be performed (resistless; tireless)