Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unforgettable” come from?

I need to work through this etymological chain carefully, but I notice some issues with the data provided. The chain given appears fragmented and doesn't form a coherent path to "unforgettable." It includes "forget," "unus" (Latin for "one"), and various PIE roots, but these don't logically connect to create the word "unforgettable." The chain seems incomplete or corrupted—for instance, "unforgettable" should derive from "forget" + "-able," not from Latin "unus" (one). Without a reliable etymological chain, I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary that names every language and follows the rule of stating "only what the chain supports." **Could you provide:** 1. A corrected etymological chain for "unforgettable"? 2. Clarification on whether this chain is meant to trace "forget" or "unforgettable"?

unforgettable (English): Very difficult or impossible to forget

Definitions

  1. Very difficult or impossible to forget

Ancestry of “unforgettable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishforgetTo lose remembrance of; To unintentionally not...
2Middle Englishforgeten—
3Old Englishforġietanto forget
4Proto-West Germanicfragetanto lose hold of; to forget
5Proto-West Germanicfra-forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or "off...
6Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “unforgettable”

  • unforgettably
  • unforgettableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →