Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unrequited” come from?

Unrequited derives from English un- plus requited, with requited coming from Latin re- plus quītus (meaning "paid" or "settled"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- meaning "to be before" or "to face."

unrequited (English): Unanswered; not returned; not reciprocated; not...

Definitions

  1. Unanswered; not returned; not reciprocated; not...

Ancestry of “unrequited”, 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 “unrequited”

  • unrequitedly
  • unrequitedness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →