Where does “unsightly” come from?
Unsightly comes from English sightly, which derives from English sight, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots including óynos, ano-, ne, and ḱóm.
unsightly (English): Displeasing to the eye
Definitions
- Displeasing to the eye
Ancestry of “unsightly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sightly | Attractive, pleasing to the eye; affording... |
| 2 | English | -ly | Used to form adjectives from nouns, the... |
| 3 | English | grisly | Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;... |
| 4 | Middle English | grisely | — |
| 5 | Old English | grisliċ | grisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid |
| 6 | Old English | -līċ | suffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *-līk | — |