un-
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
| PIE word |
|---|
| *ne |
From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Scots un-, on- (“un-”), North Frisian ün-, Saterland Frisian uun-, West Frisian ûn-, on-, Dutch on-, Low German un-, on-, German un-, Danish u-, Swedish o-, Norwegian u-, Icelandic ó-. More distant cognate with Latin in-, Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (whence English a-, modern Greek α- (a-)) and Sanskrit अ- (a-).
PrefixEdit
un-
- (added to adjectives or past participles) not
- unannounced (“not being announced”)
- uneducated (“not educated”)
- unattractive (“not attractive”)
- unconstitutional (“not constitutional”)
- (added to nouns) absent; lacking; not; negative
- unconformity (“lack of conformity”)
- ungrace (“lack of grace, gracelessness”)
- unrest (“a lack of rest [peace]; war”, noun)
- unhope (“despair”)
- unfriend (“enemy”)
- unrepair
- unluck (“misfortune”)
- unnova
- uncertainty (“lack or absence of certainty”)
- unconformity (“a lack or absence of conformity”)
- (added to nouns) contrary to or contrasted against traditional norms; unconventional; alternative
Usage notesEdit
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
NOTE: Words using the prefix un- do not necessarily use the prefixes given here when translated. See individual words for more accurate translations.
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Etymology 2Edit
| PIE word |
|---|
| *h₂énti |
From Middle English on-, from Old English ond-, and- (“against, facing, toward; in return, back, without”), from Proto-West Germanic *anda-, from Proto-Germanic *anda-, *andi- (“against”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti (“across, forth, forward, ahead”), from *h₂énts (“end, limit, forehead”). More at and-.
PrefixEdit
un-
- (added to verbs to form verbs) do the opposite of, reverse (a specified action)
- to undress (“to take one's clothes off”)
- to unwind (“to reverse a winding”)
- to unlock (“to undo the locking of”)
- 1996, Diane Warren (writer), Toni Braxton (singer), “Un-Break My Heart”, Secrets, LaFace
- Un-cry these tears I cried so many nights
Un-break my heart
- Un-cry these tears I cried so many nights
- (added to nouns to form verbs) deprive of, release from, free from, remove from, extract from
- (rare) intensifying a verb that already suggests opposition or removal
Usage notesEdit
- Only certain verbs can take un- to form a new word with the opposite meaning. In particular, verbs that describe an irreversible action produce words often considered nonsense, e.g. unkill, unspend, unlose, unring. These words may nevertheless be in occasional use for humorous, ironic or rhetorical effect.
- Although this prefix and Etymology 1 are homonymous and semantically similar (both relating to negation), they generally do not collide as they apply to different parts of speech. Ambiguity can however be caused when used with other derivational affixes; for instance unlockable can be parsed as either unlock -able (“possible to unlock”) or un- lockable (“impossible to lock”). The latter sense may be able to be expressed unambiguously by using non- instead (non-lockable).
- It is possible for a word to contain both prefixes, e.g. unundoable, but this is generally avoided due to being clumsy or unclear.
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
NOTE: Words using the prefix un- do not necessarily use the prefixes given here when translated. See individual words for more accurate translations.
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Etymology 3Edit
PrefixEdit
un-
- Used to form temporary names of elements (such as unbiunium) whose existence has been predicted, and have not yet been given a trivial name.
- Used to form large numbers as the first in the sequence.
SynonymsEdit
ReferencesEdit
AnagramsEdit
GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle High German un-, from Old High German un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
PronunciationEdit
- IPA(key): /ʊn/, [ʔʊn]
- In derivatives, the prefix usually carries the stress, though there are exceptions to this.
PrefixEdit
un-
- un- (denoting absence, a lack of; violative of; contrary to)
- grave; bad; horrifying
Derived termsEdit
GothicEdit
RomanizationEdit
un-
- Romanization of 𐌿𐌽-
LuxembourgishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Compare German an-, Dutch aan-, English on-.
PronunciationEdit
PrefixEdit
un-
- prefixed form of un (“at, on”)
Usage notesEdit
- The prefix is contracted to u- before non-alveolar consonants.
Derived termsEdit
ManxEdit
EtymologyEdit
From un (“one, single”).
PrefixEdit
un-
Derived termsEdit
Old EnglishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-, a prefix use of the particle *ne (“not”). Cognate with Old Frisian un-, Old Saxon un-, Old Dutch un-, Old High German un-, Old Norse ó-, Gothic 𐌿𐌽- (un-). The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), Latin in-, and Old Irish in-.
PronunciationEdit
PrefixEdit
un-
- negation or absence of: un-, non- (added to nouns and adjectives)
- un- + dēadlīċ (“mortal”) → undēadlīċ (“immortal”)
- un- + dēop (“deep”) → undēop (“shallow”)
- un- + dīere (“expensive”) → undīere (“cheap”)
- un- + druncen (“drunk”) → undruncen (“sober”)
- un- + fæġer (“beautiful”) → unfæġer (“ugly”)
- un- + ġewǣpnod (“armed”) → unġewǣpnod (“unarmed”)
- un- + nytt (“useful”) → unnytt (“useless”)
- un- + sċyldiġ (“guilty”) → unsċyldiġ (“innocent”)
- un- + rīpe (“mature”) → unrīpe (“immature”)
- un- + wita (“knower”) → unwita (“idiot”)
- bad (added to nouns to denote a pejorative sense; compare mis-, mal-)
- un- + dǣd (“action”) → undǣd (“crime”)
- un- + hlīsa (“fame”) → unhlīsa (“infamy”)
- un- + lǣċe (“doctor”) → unlǣċe (“quack”)
- un- + lyft (“air”) → unlyft (“malaria,” lit. “bad air”)
- un- + mann (“person”) → unmann (“thug”)
- un- + rǣd (“advice”) → unrǣd (“bad advice”)
- un- + stenċ (“smell”) → unstenċ (“stench”)
- un- + swefn (“dream”) → unswefn (“bad dream”)
- un- + tīma (“time”) → untīma (“wrong time”)
- un- + þēaw (“habit”) → unþēaw (“vice”)
- un- + weder (“weather”) → unweder (“bad weather”)
SynonymsEdit
- (bad): yfel
DescendantsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Originally an alternative form of on-, from Proto-Germanic *and-. Cognate with Old Frisian und-, Old Saxon ant-, Old High German ant- (German ent-).
Alternative formsEdit
PronunciationEdit
PrefixEdit
un-
- forms verbs from verbs, with an opposite or reversive sense
Derived termsEdit
Old High GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-, a prefix use of the particle *ne (“not”). The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-), Latin in-, and Old Irish in-.
PrefixEdit
un-
- un-; prefix of negation, absence or contrariness