Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “untimely” come from?

Untimely derives from English time plus the prefix un-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- meaning "being" or "entity," the root underlying Latin unus and other words for unity and existence.

untimely (English): At an inopportune time; Early; premature;...

Definitions

  1. At an inopportune time; Early; premature;...

Ancestry of “untimely”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishUn-—
2EnglishstillNot moving; calm; Not effervescing; not...
3Old Englishstillanbecome calm, abate, subside; calm, pacify,...
4Proto-West Germanicstillijanto make still, quiet
5Proto-West Germanic-janCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Germanic-janąDerives denominatives from nouns and factitives...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “untimely”

  • untimeliness
Every word from Chichewa iye →