Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unknit” come from?

unknit (English) comes from Middle English unknitten, from Old English uncnyttan, from Old English cnyttan, from Proto-West Germanic *knuttijan, from Proto-Germanic knuttijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

unknit (English): To unravel; To undo knitted stitches by reversing...

Definitions

  1. To unravel; To undo knitted stitches by reversing...

Ancestry of “unknit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishunknitten—
2Old Englishuncnyttanto unknot, untie
3Old Englishcnyttanto tie; bind; to knot; to knit
4Proto-West Germanic*knuttijan—
5Proto-Germanicknuttijanąto bind into a knot; to tie with a knot
6Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she
Every word from Chichewa iye →