Where does “unimportant” come from?
Unimportant derives from English important, which comes from Latin importāre meaning "to bring in," itself formed from Latin in meaning "in" and Latin portāre meaning "to carry," with the prefix un- from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning "not."
unimportant (English): petty; not important or noteworthy
Definitions
- petty; not important or noteworthy
Ancestry of “unimportant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | important | Having relevant and crucial value; Pompous;... |
| 2 | Middle English | important | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | importans | importing; introducing, causing |
| 4 | Latin | importo | I bring, carry or convey into; bring in from... |
| 5 | Latin | in- | un-, non-, not; in, within, inside |
| 6 | Latin | in | in, at, on, upon, from; within, while in; into,... |
| 7 | Old Latin | en | in |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |