homeless

Meaning

Adj

1. Lacking a permanent place of residence.
2. Containing no place that might be called home.

Noun

A person who is homeless.

Synonyms

shelterless

roofless

stray

vagabond

homeless person

vagrant

dispossessed

unsettled

roam

wander

houseless

nomadic

stateless

neglected

wanderer

unhoused

unsheltered

ruined

shameless

tramp

waif

wanderlust

family in mourning

soilless

street child

having no abode

without a family

without lodgment

street person

landless person

aimless

hupaithric

Arab

beggar

bum

derelict

desolate

destitute

hobo

impoverished

jobless

loiterer

orphan

outcast

ownerless

pauperized

peregrinate

rude

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhoʊmlɪs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *homles

Inherited from Old English: hāmlēas

Cognate with Dutch: heemloos

Cognate with Danish: hjemløs

Cognate with Swedish: hemlös

Cognate with German: heimatlos

Cognate with Icelandic: heimilislaus

In summary

From Middle English *homles, *hamles, from Old English hāmlēas (“homeless”), equivalent to home + -less. Cognate with Dutch heemloos, Danish hjemløs (“homeless”), Swedish hemlös (“homeless”). Compare also German heimatlos (“homeless”), Icelandic heimilislaus (“homeless”), West Frisian dakleas (“homeless”, literally “having no roof, roofless”).