Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unseemly” come from?

Unseemly comes from Middle English unsemli, a formation with the prefix un- attached to semli, meaning not fitting or becoming in appearance or behavior.

unseemly (English): Inconsistent with established standards of good...

Definitions

  1. Inconsistent with established standards of good...

Ancestry of “unseemly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishunsemli—
2Old Norseúsǽmiligr—

Words derived from “unseemly”

  • unseemliness
  • unseemlily
Every word from Old Norse úsǽmiligr →