Where does “unknown” come from?

Unknown derives from English un- plus known, which comes from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- meaning to know, via the negating prefix ne-.

unknown (English): Not known; unidentified; not well known; A...

Definitions

  1. Not known; unidentified; not well known; A...

Ancestry of “unknown”, 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 “unknown”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →Every word from Proto-Indo-European n̥- →Every word from English un- →