Buttonless

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by the absence of small fasteners typically used to close clothing or objects ; lacking the usual means of fastening garments or devices with circular pieces for securing
2. Describing an item or garment that does not have the common round closures used for joining two pieces ; signifying the state of being without buttons, either by design or omission
3. Referring to something designed or appearing without the standard small discs meant to secure fabric or panels ; indicating the condition of having no button fasteners, often implying a smooth or seamless appearance

Etymology: Buttonless is about as transparent as English compounds get: it is "button" with the suffix "-less," meaning "without." The suffix traces back through Old English "-lēas," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "loose" or "free of," which is also the ancestor of the verb "lose." So a buttonless coat is, etymologically, a coat that has been left loose of its buttons. That is the whole story of the word itself. "Button" is the older and more interesting half: it arrived in English from Old French "bouton," a word for a bud or knob, and it was the shape of a bud that gave the fastener its name. The "-less" ending, meanwhile, has been productive in English since Old English times, which is why it attaches so easily to nouns like "button," "hope," and "care" to make new adjectives on demand.

Synonyms: unbuttoned, button-free, fastenerless, closureless

Antonyms: buttoned, fastened, closed, buttoned-up