Member-only story
2022: Creating a Lexicon of Future
F is for Feckless
The “feck” in feckless began as a short form of effect used in the Scots dialect. So feckless essentially means “ineffective,” but is also used to describe someone who is irresponsible, incompetent, inept, or without purpose in life. ~ Merriam-Webster
“Feck” is a form of effeck, which is in turn the Scots cognate of the modern English word effect. However, this Scots noun has additional significance:
Efficacy; force; value; return
Amount; quantity (or a large amount/quantity)
The greater or larger part (when used with a definite article)
From the first sense can be derived “feckless”, meaning witless, weak, or ineffective. “Feckless” remains a part of Modern English and Scottish English, and appears in a number of Scottish adages:
“Feckless folk are aye fain o ane anither.””Feckless fools should keep canny tongues.” ~ Wikipedia
