Spotless

How to spell spotless

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce spotless

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does spotless mean?

1. adjectivePerfectly clean, with no marks or stains; or morally faultless.

Spotless in a sentence

• The cleaner left the kitchen spotless before the guests arrived.

• His spotless driving record helped him secure the lower insurance premium.

Where does spotless come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a straightforward compound of the noun 'spot' and the suffix '-less'. The noun 'spot' appears in Middle English meaning a small mark or stain, and although its earliest source is uncertain, it is generally linked to Old English splott and related Low German and Middle Dutch words for a patch or blot, all carrying the idea of a discoloured area. The suffix '-less' descends from Old English 'leas', meaning 'free from' or 'without', the same element that ends words such as 'careless' and 'fearless'. Joined together by the 1400s, 'spotless' literally meant 'having no spots', and it quickly took on the figurative sense of moral purity, as in a spotless reputation. The spelling trap is the join: the 't' of 'spot' and the 'l' of '-less' sit side by side with a single 's' on each part, so it is 'spot' plus 'less', never a doubled letter.

How the word is built

• spot (mark/stain)
• -less (without)