Where does feckless come from?

Feckless seems like an unlikely word to make news in the internet age, sounding more like something you’d see in a letter in the 18th-century about someone’s unambitious relative. And indeed, feckless has a fairly old pedigree, recorded in the late 1500s. This Scots word is based on feck, which can refer to “vigor” or “efficiency,” and is a clipped form of effect. So, feckless is “lacking feck,” hence “ineffective.”

Feckless one of many –less words in English that retains a base noun we’ve otherwise largely lost (e.g., ruthless, reckless, hapless, gormless). And, in case you’re wondering, feckless does have a counterpart in (the rare or humorous) feckful.

But, humble feckless was catapulted into publicity on May 30, 2018, when comedian Samantha Bee dropped it (and another very choice word) on her news satire show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Amid the controversy of the Trump administration’s migrant family separation policy that year, Ivanka Trump tweeted a photo of herself and her child. On a segment of her show lambasting the perceived obliviousness of the photo, Bee criticized Ivanka by calling her feckless (and that other very choice word we alluded to above).

The White House (along with others) condemned the comment, and Samantha Bee issued an apology the following day. But, the word feckless (and that other stronger word) went buzzing in search interest and in the media after the incident.