toothless

adj

Etymology: From Middle English tothles, from Old English tōþlēas, from Proto-Germanic *tanþlausaz (“toothless”), equivalent to tooth + -less. Cognate with Dutch tandeloos (“toothless”), German Low German tannlos (“toothless”), German zahnlos (“toothless”), Danish tandløs (“toothless”), Swedish tandlös (“toothless”), Icelandic tannlaus (“toothless”).

1. Having no teeth.

   “a toothless old man”

   “She goes on to explain the difficulty she's having getting visas for Lawrence and for Robert, the 14-year-old who is her older brother and is, amazingly, the last child of the toothless tiny woman who buzzes around us. (I find out later that she is only in her mid-fifties.)”

2. Weak; having no ability to enforce something.

   “The treaty was toothless because of the lack of participation from the undersigned.”

   “Not tell? Ha! ha! I could ſmile, / At this old, and toothleſſe vvile.”