Word of the Day

: March 14, 2009

feckless

adjective FECK-lus

What It Means

1 : weak, ineffective

2 : worthless, irresponsible

feckless in Context

Although Trevor was admired by his colleagues at the newspaper, he turned out to be a feckless reporter, and so he was reassigned to the copy desk.

Did You Know?

Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? "Feck" is a Scots term that means "effect" or "majority" and comes from an alteration of the Middle English "effect." So something without feck is without effect, or "ineffective." In the past, "feckful" (meaning "efficient," "sturdy," or "powerful") made an occasional appearance. But in this case, the weak has outlived the strong: "feckless" is a commonly used English word, but "feckful" has fallen out of use.