Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “undeveloped” come from?

Undeveloped is a modern English formation combining the prefix un- (from Proto-Indo-European ne, meaning "not") with the past participle developed, ultimately tracing back through Latin and Proto-Indo-European roots expressing negation and existence.

undeveloped (English): not developed or used; not built on, unbuilt; not...

Definitions

  1. not developed or used; not built on, unbuilt; not...

Ancestry of “undeveloped”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishUn-—
2Middle Englishun-—
3Old Englishun-negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms...
4Proto-West Germanicun-not, un-
5Proto-Germanicun-not, un-
6Proto-Indo-Europeann̥-not, un-
7Proto-Indo-Europeannenot

Words derived from “undeveloped”

  • undevelopedness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →