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thewless (THYOO-les) - adj., lacking vigor, energy, or spirit.
Or even courage. This is the negative form of Conan's mighty thews, which despite the plural form are not his muscles but his strength. Sometimes spelled thowless, but dictionaries disagree as to whether that's an alternate form or a separate Scottish word, though they both definitively go back to Middle English thewless/theweles, from Old English þēawlēas, equivalent to (in Modern form) thew in the sense of an attractive physical attribute, especially muscle (as opposed to a bondman/slave) + -less.
---L.
Or even courage. This is the negative form of Conan's mighty thews, which despite the plural form are not his muscles but his strength. Sometimes spelled thowless, but dictionaries disagree as to whether that's an alternate form or a separate Scottish word, though they both definitively go back to Middle English thewless/theweles, from Old English þēawlēas, equivalent to (in Modern form) thew in the sense of an attractive physical attribute, especially muscle (as opposed to a bondman/slave) + -less.
---L.
