Wireless means working without any cables at all. A wireless network, wireless headphones, connect wirelessly.
In Britain the wireless once meant the radio, and older speakers still say it. Nothing is truly without wires — a wireless network ends at a cable somewhere, usually within a few metres. The -less ending means without, as in useless and endless.
1adjectivewirelessWorking without any cables.
“I bought wireless headphones so I can listen to music while I walk around the house.”
wireless is a quality of connection.
Proto-Indo-European
*weh₁y-
Proto-Indo-European
*weh₁iros — a twist, thread, cord, wire
Proto-Germanic
*wīraz — wire
Old English
wīr — wire, metal thread, wire-ornament
Middle English
wir
English
wire
English, today
wireless
Built from
From wire + -less. wire comes from Middle English wir, wyr, from Old English wīr (“wire, metal thread, wire-ornament”), from Proto-Germanic wīraz (“wire”), from Proto-Indo-European weh₁iros (“a twist, thread, cord, wire”), from weh₁y- (“to turn, twist, weave, plait”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA