Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unwonted” come from?

Unwonted comes from English wont (accustomed) plus the prefix un-, ultimately from Latin unus (one) and Proto-Indo-European óynos, h₂ent-, and ne, originally denoting singularity or being.

unwonted (English): Not customary or habitual; unusual; infrequent;...

Definitions

  1. Not customary or habitual; unusual; infrequent;...

Ancestry of “unwonted”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwontedUsual, customary, habitual, or accustomed
2Middle Englishwoontedusual, customary
3Middle Englishwontcustom, habit, practice
4Old Englishġewunod—
5Old Englishġewunian—
6Old Englishġēye
7Proto-Germanicjahwand, also
8Proto-Germanic-hwand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
9Proto-Germanic-hwe—
10Proto-Indo-European-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives

Words derived from “unwonted”

  • unwontedly
  • unwontedness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe →