wireless

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English wire

Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der.

Proto-Germanic *leusaną

Proto-Germanic *lausaz

Proto-Germanic *-lausaz

Proto-West Germanic *-laus

Old English -lēas

Middle English -les

English -less

English wireless

From wire + -less.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪə.ləs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪ(jə)ɹ.ləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: wire‧less

Adjective

wireless (not comparable)

1. Not having any wires.
2. Functioning without an external wired connection.

   wireless headphones

   wireless charging

   • 1914, L. Frank Baum, Tik-Tok of Oz:

     Ozma, observing this action in her Magic Picture, at once caught up a similar instrument from a table beside her and held it to her own ear. The two instruments recorded the same delicate vibrations of sound and formed a wireless telephone, an invention of the Wizard. Those separated by any distance were thus enabled to converse together with perfect ease.

Synonyms

• cordless

Antonyms

• wired

Derived terms

• nonwireless
• prewireless
• wireless adapter
• wireless broadband
• wireless cable
• wireless fidelity
• wireless Internet
• wirelessly
• wireless modem
• wirelessness
• wireless network
• wireless phone
• wireless telegraph
• wireless telegraphy
• wireless telephony

Translations

not having any wires

• Afrikaans: draadloos
• Arabic: لَاسِلْكِيّ (lāsilkiyy)
• Bulgarian: безжичен (bezžičen)
• Catalan: sense fil
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無線 / 无线 (zh) (wǔxiàn)

• Czech: bezdrátový (cs)
• Danish: trådløs (da)
• Dutch: draadloos (nl)
• Elfdalian: tråðlos
• Esperanto: sendrata
• Finnish: langaton (fi)
• French: sans fil (fr)
• Georgian: უსადენო (usadeno), უკაბელო (uḳabelo)
• German: drahtlos (de)
• Greek: ασύρματος (el) m (asýrmatos)
• Hebrew: אַלְחוּטִי m (alẖutí)
• Hindi: बेतार (hi) (betār)
• Indonesian: nirkabel (id)
• Japanese: 無線 (ja) (むせん, musen), ワイヤレス (ja) (waiyaresu)
• Latin: sine filo
• Macedonian: безжичен (bezžičen)
• Malay: wayarles (ms), nirwayar (ms)
• Māori: waeakore
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: trådlaus, trådløs (no)

  Nynorsk: trådlaus

• Polish: bezprzewodowy (pl), bezsznurowy (pl) (less common)
• Portuguese: sem fio
• Romanian: fără fir
• Russian: беспро́водный (ru) (bespróvodnyj), беспроводно́й (ru) (besprovodnój), беспро́волочный (ru) (bespróvoločnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: бежично, bežično (sh)
• Spanish: inalámbrico (es)
• Swedish: trådlös (sv)
• Tagalog: awangkawad, walang-kawad
• Telugu: తీగెలేని (tīgelēni)
• Thai: ไร้สาย (rái-sǎai)
• Turkish: kablosuz (tr)
• Ukrainian: бездрото́вий (uk) (bezdrotóvyj)
• Urdu: بے تار (betār), لا سلکی (lā silkī)
• Uzbek: simsiz (uz)
• Vietnamese: không dây
• Welsh: diwifr

of or relating to wireless telegraphy

• Arabic: لَاسِلْكِيّ (lāsilkiyy)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: langaton (fi)
• German: drahtlos (de), Funk- (de), Radio- (de)
• Greek: ασύρματος (el) m (asýrmatos)
• Hebrew: אַלְחוּטִי m (alẖutí)
• Hindi: बेतार (hi) (betār)
• Japanese: ワイヤレス (ja) (waiyaresu), 無線 (ja) (むせん, musen)
• Polish: radiowy (pl)
• Portuguese: sem fio
• Romanian: radio- (ro)
• Russian: ра́дио- (ru) (rádio-), беспроводно́й (ru) (besprovodnój)
• Tagalog: awangkawad, walang-kawad
• Vietnamese: không dây, vô tuyến (vi)
• Welsh: diwifr

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} draadloos (nl)
• French: ^{(please verify)} sans fil (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} drahtlos (de)
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} بی‌سیم (fa) (bi-sim)
• Sindhi: ^{(please verify)} ريتار (sd) (retār)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} inalámbrico (es)

Noun

wireless (usually uncountable, plural (dated) wirelesses)

1. (uncountable) The medium of radio communication.

   Only about a hundred years ago, wireless was a new technology.

   • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:

     It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless. And results are all that concern me. […]”

2. (uncountable, networking) A wireless connectivity to a computer network.

   If your wireless stops working, try restarting the router.

3. (chiefly UK, dated) A radio set.

   Let's switch on the wireless and listen to the news.

   • 1979, Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, Bruce Woolley, “Video Killed the Radio Star”:

     I heard you on my wireless back in '52

   • 2021, Otto English, Fake History, page 2:

     In the corner of that dark back room stood a black and white television—their one nod to modernity—and beside it, two old wirelesses and a headset that had not seen action since the TV arrived.

Derived terms

• coconut wireless
• mukluk wireless
• wirelessless
• wireless operator

Translations

radio

• Bulgarian: радио (bg) (radio)
• Catalan: ràdio (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無線電 / 无线电 (zh) (wúxiàndiàn)

• Finnish: radio (fi), radioviestintä
• French: radio (fr) f, TSF (fr) f
• German: Funk (de) m, Rundfunk (de) m, Radio (de) n
• Greek: ασύρματος (el) m (asýrmatos)
• Hebrew: אַלְחוּט m (alẖút)
• Hindi: रेडियो (hi) (reḍiyo)
• Japanese: 無線機 (ja) (むせんき, musenki), ワイヤレス (ja) (waiyaresu)
• Malay: radio, wayarles (ms)
• Polish: radio (pl) n
• Portuguese: tecnologia sem fio f, tecnologia wireless f
• Russian: ра́дио (ru) n (rádio)
• Sindhi: ريتار (sd) (retār)
• Turkish: telsiz (tr)
• Welsh: radio (cy) m, weiarles m

wireless connectivity to a computer network

• Bulgarian: безжично свързване n (bezžično svărzvane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: langaton (fi)
• German: WLAN (de) m
• Portuguese: wireless (pt) f

Verb

wireless (third-person singular simple present wirelesses, present participle wirelessing, simple past and past participle wirelessed)

1. (dated or obsolete, transitive) To send (a message) by wireless or radio.
   • 1919, William Charles Henry Wood, Flag and Fleet:

     At 3:30 A.M. a huge Zeppelin flew across the British battle line, wirelessing down to any Germans still to the westward the best way to get home.

   • 1933, Robert Byron, First Russia, Then Tibet‎^[1], Part II, Chapter 1:

     Just outside Piraeus we circled low over a capsized fishing-boat, a grisly wreck in the crystal blue water, and wirelessed a description of it to the mainland.

Anagrams

• weirless

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English wireless.

Noun

wireless m (invariable)

1. wireless (transmission without wires)

Adjective

wireless (invariable)

1. (computing) wireless

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from English wireless.

Noun

wireless m (uncountable)

1. (Guernsey) wireless, radio

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

English wire

Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der.

Proto-Germanic *leusaną

Proto-Germanic *lausaz

Proto-Germanic *-lausaz

Proto-West Germanic *-laus

Old English -lēas

Middle English -les

English -less

English wirelessubor.

Portuguese wireless

Unadapted borrowing from English wireless.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈwaj.ɾi.les/ [ˈwaɪ̯.ɾi.les], /ˌwaj.ɾiˈlɛs/ [ˌwaɪ̯.ɾiˈlɛs]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈwaj.ɾi.les/ [ˈwaɪ̯.ɾi.les], /ˌwaj.ɾiˈlɛs/ [ˌwaɪ̯.ɾiˈlɛs]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈwaj.ɾi.leʃ/ [ˈwaɪ̯.ɾi.leʃ], /ˌwaj.ɾiˈlɛʃ/ [ˌwaɪ̯.ɾiˈlɛʃ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˌwaj.ɾɨˈlɐs.(ɨ)/, /ˌwaj.ɾɨˈlɛs.(ɨ)/

Noun

wireless m (invariable)

1. (networking) wireless (wireless connectivity to a computer network)

Adjective

wireless (invariable)

1. (of hardware) wireless (communicating without wired connections)

   Synonyms: (Brazil) sem fio, (Portugal) sem fios

Further reading

• “wireless”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “wireless”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “wireless”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026