Meaning

noun a lack of attentiveness (as to children or helpless people)

noun the trait of acting rashly and without prudence

noun the trait of forgetting or ignoring your responsibilities

originEtymology tree English heedless Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English heedlessness From heedless + -ness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0