Where does “unwritten” come from?

Unwritten comes from Middle English unwriten, from Old English unwriten, a compound of un- and writen meaning not written.

unwritten (English): Not written; Oral or otherwise communicated...

Definitions

  1. Not written; Oral or otherwise communicated...

Ancestry of “unwritten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishunwriten—
2Old Englishunwritenunwritten
3Old Englishun-negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms...
4Proto-Germanicand-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “unwritten”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts →