"Stateless" refers to a condition where an individual or entity does not possess citizenship or nationality in any country. This can lead to a lack of legal rights and protections, making it difficult for stateless individuals to access basic services like education, healthcare, and employment. Statelessness can arise from various factors, including conflicts, discrimination, or changes in national laws. In the context of technology, "stateless" describes systems or protocols that do not retain information about previous interactions. For example, in a stateless web service, each request from a client is treated independently, without any stored context from prior requests. This design simplifies scalability and reliability, as each interaction is self-contained.