Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “unwares” come from?

unwares (Old English) comes from Old English unwær, from Old English un-, 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.

Ancestry of “unwares”, step by step

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

Words derived from “unwares”

  • unwares
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →