Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “uninterested” come from?

Uninterested derives from English un- plus interested, which comes from Latin interesse meaning "to concern," itself from inter- "between" and esse "to be," tracing back to Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-.

uninterested (English): Unmotivated by personal interest; unbiased,...

Definitions

  1. Unmotivated by personal interest; unbiased,...

Ancestry of “uninterested”, 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 “uninterested”

  • uninterestedly
  • uninterestedness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →