Lacking down feathers; not having soft, fluffy plumage or lacking a soft downy quality.
Compound of 'down' (Old Norse 'dúnn') and the suffix '-less' (Old English 'lēas', meaning 'without' or 'lacking'), creating an adjective meaning the absence of down.
The '-less' suffix is one of English's most useful tools for negation—we can add it to almost any noun to describe what something lacks, making it endlessly productive!
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