mittellos

Mittellos is a German adjective meaning without money or means, i.e., penniless or destitute. It can describe a person, a household, or a situation in which financial resources are severely lacking. In extended use, mittellos can also denote a lack of resources beyond money, such as opportunities or options, though this figurative sense remains less common.

Etymology and background: Mittellos is formed from Mittel (means, resources) plus the suffix -los (without). The compound expresses the literal idea “without means.” The term appears in early modern German and is found with some frequency in 18th- and 19th-century prose, social reports, and literature. In contemporary everyday language, mittellos retains a formal or literary tone; more colloquial alternatives include pleite or arm (as a general noun-adjective contrast).

Usage and grammar: Mittellos has proper inflection like other adjectives. Examples: ein mittelloser Mann, eine mittellose Frau, mittellose Armen (plural). The noun die Mittellosigkeit (destitution) exists but is relatively uncommon compared with general terms for poverty.

See also: poverty terminology in German, destitution, armutsbegriffe, pleite.

In sum, mittellos is a formal, literary descriptor for severe financial lack, rooted in the simple negation of means and used primarily in historical or stylistically elevated contexts.