Artless
/ˈɑːrt.ləs/noun
Lacking artifice, refinement, or subtlety; sincere and naive.
Did you know?In older English, *art* meant skill, craft, or learned technique, so *artless* originally described someone lacking the trained power that once made language, magic, and making feel inseparable.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ar-
“to fit together, join, prepare”
Latin
Latin
ars, artis
“skill, craft, method, art”
Old French
Old French
art
“skill, craft, learning”
Middle English
English
artles
“without skill or cunning; naive”
Modern English
English
artless
“lacking artifice, refinement, or subtlety; sincere and naive”