Where does “unoccupied” come from?
Unoccupied derives from English occupy (from Latin occupāre) combined with the prefix un-, which traces back through Proto-Indo-European ne meaning "not."
unoccupied (English): Not inhabited, especially by a tenant; Not being...
Definitions
- Not inhabited, especially by a tenant; Not being...
Ancestry of “unoccupied”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | un- | not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to... |
| 2 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 3 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |