thieveless, a. Sc.
(ˈθiːvlɪs)
[Of uncertain origin; first in Ramsay, ? misreading of earlier theueles, thewless, to which it answers in sense.]
Void of energy, ineffectual, aimless; spiritless, not serious; cold, without warmth of manner.
| 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. i, She cam wi a right thieveless errand back. 1786 Burns Brigs of Ayr 89 Wi' thieveless sneer to see his modish mien, He, down the water, gies him this guid-e'en. 1835 Carrick Laird of Logan 289 (E.D.D.) She answered in a gay, thieveless-like way. 1897 R. M. Fergusson Vill. Poet xiii. 80 He..appeared listless, or, as he himself expressed it, ‘rale thieveless’. |
b. ‘Applied to weather in a sort of intermediate or uncertain state. Thus, a thieveless day is one that has no decided character, neither properly good nor bad’ (Jamieson, s.v. Thewles).