pre-noun adjectival
meaningless; senseless; absurd
Literary pre-noun adjectival (rentaishi) meaning something is without reason, groundless, or pointless. Often used in formal or written contexts.
由なき噂に惑わされてはいけない。
Don't be misled by groundless rumors.
彼の怒りは由なきものだった。
His anger was senseless.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling for this pre-noun adjectival.
Alternate spelling using 無 for the negative element; less common than 由なき.
Composed of 由 (reason, cause) + なき (classical negative form of ある, 'to be'), literally 'without reason'. The form is a fossilized classical construction used as a pre-noun adjectival.