Where does “un-” come from?

un- (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic and-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

un- (Old English): negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms...

Definitions

  1. negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms...

Ancestry of “un-”, step by step

un- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Germanic and-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicand-—
2Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Proto-West Germanic un-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicun-not, un-
2Proto-Germanicun-not, un-
3Proto-Indo-Europeann̥-not, un-
4Proto-Indo-Europeannenot

Words derived from “un-”

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