Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unfaithful” come from?

Unfaithful derives from English faithful, which comes from Latin fidelis meaning "trustworthy," ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- meaning "being" or "existing."

unfaithful (English): Not having religious faith; Not keeping good...

Definitions

  1. Not having religious faith; Not keeping good...

Ancestry of “unfaithful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishun-not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to...
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 “unfaithful”

  • unfaithfulness
  • unfaithfully
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →