Etymology Explorer › Proto-West Germanic

Where does “un-” come from?

un- (Proto-West Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic un-, from Proto-Indo-European n̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ne — not.

un- (Proto-West Germanic): not, un-

Definitions

  1. not, un-

Ancestry of “un-”, step by step

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

Words derived from “un-”

  • immediately
  • immediate
  • unknown
  • unusual
  • uncertainty
  • unexpected
  • unconscious
  • unfortunate
  • uncertain
  • unhappy
  • unnecessary
  • uncomfortable
  • unemployment
  • unfortunately
  • unwilling
  • uncommon
  • unjust
  • uneasy
  • unstable
  • unreasonable
  • unusually
  • unaware
  • unlimited
  • unsuccessful
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →