Where does “unreal” come from?
Unreal is a negative formation in English from real, which derives from Latin reālis (relating to things), itself from Latin rēs (thing) and the adjectival suffix -ālis, ultimately traced to Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ- (to direct or rule).
unreal (English): fake; not real; very impressive; amazing;...
Definitions
- fake; not real; very impressive; amazing;...
Ancestry of “unreal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | real | True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent;... |
| 2 | Middle English | real | real, true, factual; concerning possessions;... |
| 3 | Old French | reel | — |
| 4 | Latin | reālis | real |
| 5 | Latin | rēs | thing, object, stuff |
| 6 | Latin | vindicatio | civil lawsuit; protection, defence; vindication;... |
| 7 | Latin | vindicō | to lay claim to as one's own (often with sibi) |
| 8 | Latin | vindex | claimant, vindicator |
| 9 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 10 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 11 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 12 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 13 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 14 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 15 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 16 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 17 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |