Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “untold” come from?

Untold comes from Old English unteald, from Old English tellan meaning to count or relate, from Proto-Germanic taljaną, from Proto-Indo-European del- meaning to divide or count.

untold (English): Not told; not related; not revealed; secret; Not...

Definitions

  1. Not told; not related; not revealed; secret; Not...

Ancestry of “untold”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishuntealdnot counted or reckoned
2Old Englishtellanto count, calculate; to tell, narrate, recount;...
3Proto-West Germanictalljanto count, to enumerate; to recount, to tell
4Proto-Germanictaljanąto enumerate, count; to account, recount, tell
5Proto-Germanictaląspeech; number
6Proto-Indo-Europeandol-reckoning, calculation, fraud; calculation, fraud
7Proto-Indo-Europeandel-to aim, calculate, adjust, count; to reckon,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European del- →