Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unawareness” come from?

Unawareness derives from English unaware, built with the prefix un- from Proto-Indo-European ne (not) plus aware, ultimately tracing to Latin unus (one) through Proto-Indo-European óynos.

unawareness (English): The state of being unaware

Definitions

  1. The state of being unaware

Ancestry of “unawareness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-nessAppended to adjectives to form nouns meaning "the...
2Middle English-nesseAffixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns...
3Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
4Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
5Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
6Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
7Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
8Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
9Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →