'pleasurelessness' originates from English, specifically formed from the noun 'pleasure' (ultimately from Old French 'plaisir' and Latin 'placēre'), combined with the suffix '-less' (from Old English 'lēas', meaning 'without') and the suffix '-ness' (from Old English 'nēs'/'nes', meaning 'state or quality').

'pleasure' changed from Old French 'plaisir' to Middle English 'plesure' and then to modern English 'pleasure'; later the adjective 'pleasureless' was formed by adding '-less', and nominalization with '-ness' produced 'pleasurelessness'.

Initially the elements meant 'pleasure' and 'without' plus 'state', and together they have come to mean 'the state of being without pleasure' — a meaning that has remained stable.