'image-less' originates from the combination of 'image' (from Latin 'imago' via Old French 'image') and the English suffix '-less' (from Old English 'lēas'), where 'imago' meant 'likeness' and 'lēas' meant 'free from' or 'without'.

'image' entered English via Old French 'image' from Latin 'imago'; the suffix '-less' descends from Old English 'lēas' and became the productive adjectival suffix '-less' in Middle English, producing compounds such as 'image-less' to indicate absence of the thing named.

Initially the components referred to a 'likeness' ('image') and 'being free from' ('-less'); combined, the term has been used to mean 'without a likeness or picture' and has extended to mean generally 'lacking visual imagery' (literal and figurative).