'lenslessness' originates from English, composed by combining 'lens' + the adjectival suffix '-less' (meaning 'without') and the nominalizing suffix '-ness'. The element 'lens' itself ultimately comes from Latin 'lens' meaning 'lentil', used metaphorically for an optical lens because of its shape.

'lens' entered English from Latin 'lens' (via late Latin and through Old French/medieval borrowings) where it originally meant 'lentil'; Old English contributed '-less' from 'lēas' ('free from, without') and the noun-forming '-ness' from Old English '-nes(s)e'. The modern compound 'lenslessness' is a straightforward productive formation in Modern English.

Originally 'lens' referred to a lentil and later to the optical element because of shape; 'lenslessness' was formed to mean 'without lenses' and retains that literal meaning, while also sometimes acquiring a figurative sense of lacking a viewpoint or filter.