'charmlessness' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the noun 'charm' with the adjectival suffix '-less' and the abstract-noun suffix '-ness'.

'charm' came into Middle English from Old French 'charme' (also 'char(m)e'), which ultimately traces back to Latin 'carmen' meaning 'song' or 'incantation'. The suffix '-less' derives from Old English 'lēas' meaning 'free from' or 'without', and '-ness' is an Old English abstract-noun-forming suffix.

Initially, 'charm' could mean a 'song' or 'incantation' (and later 'magic' or 'spell'), and over time its meaning shifted toward 'a pleasing or attractive quality'; 'charmlessness' thus came to mean 'the absence of that pleasing quality'.