Where does “unexpected” come from?
Unexpected derives from English expect, which comes from Latin exspectāre, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- meaning "to be in front of" or "to face."
unexpected (English): Not expected, anticipated or foreseen
Definitions
- Not expected, anticipated or foreseen
Ancestry of “unexpected”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Un- | — |
| 2 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 3 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |
Words derived from “unexpected”