Where does “unwise” come from?
Unwise comes from Old English unwīs, a compound of un- and wīs meaning "not wise."
unwise (English): Not wise; lacking wisdom
Definitions
- Not wise; lacking wisdom
Ancestry of “unwise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | unwis | — |
| 2 | Old English | unwīs | unwise, foolish, ignorant, uninformed, insane |
| 3 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | and- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énti | opposite; near; in front |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |