weightlessadj.
/ˈweɪtlᵻs/, U.S. /ˈweɪtlᵻs/ a. Without weight, having comparatively little weight. Also (of a body having mass), not apparently acted on by gravity, either because the gravitational field is locally weak, or because both the body and its surroundings are freely and equally accelerating under the field (as in an orbiting satellite).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > [adjective] > extremely
weightlessa1547
peiseless1608
imponderable1846
imponderous1851
ultralight1974
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > [adjective] > having no weight > apparently
weightless1929
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Diiv But she was gone; And suttly fled into the weightlesse aire.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. iii. 164 Did he suspire, that light and weightlesse dowlne Perforce must moue. View more context for this quotation
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis x. 214 The Swans that drew Idalia's waightlesse charriot through the aire.
1652 E. Benlowes Theophila iii. xxx. 41 Those Lights..Who would pourtray, as soon may finde A way to paint the viewless, poise the weightless Winde.
1860 W. W. Reade Liberty Hall, Oxon. I. v. 77 The captain of the Liberty Hall boat..had long since observed young Saxon, his form slim therefore weightless.
1890 K. Pearson in Messenger Math. XX. 28 Suppose the load at the free terminal not to be produced by a suspended load but by a weightless spring.
1929 Science Wonder Q. Fall 55/2 Do you mean that..we will be weightless as soon as you..set the lever at zero?
1950 Jrnl. Aviation Med. 21 396/2 A body is weightless as soon as it is allowed to move freely under the influence of gravity and of its own inertia.
1953 A. C. Clarke Prelude to Space (rev. ed.) v. 28 The perfect [spaceship] pilot..must be capable of operating efficiently..when he was ‘weightless’.
1978 Nature 20 July 236/1 We report here the results of an experiment in the weightless environment of space.
1983 A. Mason Illusionist i. 15 A man who could command his body to float weightless through the air could not command the necessities of life.
b. of immaterial things.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > of little importance or trivial
eathlyc890
lighteOE
littleOE
small?c1225
singlec1449
easy1474
triflous1509
naughty1526
slender1530
slight1548
shrimpish1549
slipper1567
truanta1572
toyous1581
trivious1583
mean1585
silly1587
nicea1594
puny?1594
puisne1598
pusill1599
whindling1601
sapless1602
non-significant1603
poor1603
unsignificant1603
flea-bite1605
perishing1605
lank1607
weightless1610
fonda1616
penny farthing1615
triviala1616
unweighty1621
transitory1637
twattling1651
inconsiderate1655
unserious1655
nugal1656
small drink1656
slighty1662
minute1668
paddling1679
snitling1682
retail1697
Lilliputian1726
vain1731
rattletrap1760
peppercornish1762
peppercorn1791
underling1804
venial1806
lightweight1809
floccinaucical1826
small-bore1833
minified1837
trantlum1838
piffling1848
tea-tabular1855
potty1860
whipping-snapping1861
tea-gardeny1862
quiddling1863
twaddling1863
fidgeting1865
penny ante1865
feather-weighted1870
jerkwater1877
midget1879
mimsy1880
shirttail1881
two-by-four1885
footle1894
skittery1905
footery1929
Mickey Mouse1931
chickenshit1934
minoritized1945
marginal1952
marginalized1961
tea-party1961
little league1962
marginalizing1977
minnowy1991
1610 in Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists 3 (margin) [They] are oft times emboldened to roule vpon them as from aloft very weake and weightlesse discourses.
1662 J. Dryden To Ld. Chancellor 5 The glorious Course you have begun..must both weightlesse and immortal prove.
1858 W. Arnot Laws from Heaven 2nd Ser. ii. 22 A voluble tongue..may..not add one grain to the stock of human wisdom by the imposing bulk of its weightless product.
1859 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Aeneid vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. II. 203 For neither weightless was Amata's name.
Derivatives
ˈweightlessness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > [noun] > apparent weightless condition
weightlessness1884
1884 E. Fawcett Rutherford xvii. 195 The hand which she gave him had wasted into almost utter weightlessness.
1929 Science Wonder Q. Fall 58/2 If they had not already been accustomed to weightlessness, the first heedless step would have carried them far from the ship.
1932 D. Lasser Conquest of Space xiii. 192 The terrors of weightlessness.
1959 Observer 31 May 1/4 The two monkeys spent a number of minutes in a condition of weightlessness or zero G.
1974 R. Adams Shardik x. 74 Her stance gave a curious impression of weightlessness, as though she might actually be about to float down into the hollow.
1983 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 13 Aug. 479/2 The most important vestibular disturbance encountered in weightlessness is motion sickness.
Draft additions 1993
ˈweightlessly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > [adverb] > without weight > apparently
weightlessly1934
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Weightlessly.
1965 Eng. Stud. 46 379 [Cybele]‘sails’ athwart as if moving..weightlessly.
1984 ‘C. Curzon’ Masks & Faces i. 6 An underwater illusion of being weightlessly afloat.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.a1547