Where does “unsteal” come from?

unsteal (English) comes from English steal, from Middle English stele, from Old English stela, from Proto-Germanic stelaną, from Proto-Indo-European tsel- — to sneak.

unsteal (English): To reverse the process of stealing; to return, or...

Definitions

  1. To reverse the process of stealing; to return, or...

Ancestry of “unsteal”, step by step

unsteal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English steal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstealTo take illegally, or without the owner's...
2Middle Englishstelesteel
3Old Englishstelastalk (of a plant)
4Proto-Germanicstelanąto steal; to sneak
5Proto-Indo-Europeantsel-to sneak

via English un

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishunOne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tsel-Every word from Proto-Germanic stelanąEvery word from Old English stela