English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

"U" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“U” Word Origins

PIE word *upó From un- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + often.

From un- + opened.

From un- + opposed.

From un- + orthodox.

From Middle English unpakken, from un- + pack.

From un- + packed, or from unpack + -ed.

From un- + paid.

From un- + paralleled.

From un- + partial.

From un- + patriotic.

From un- + perpetual.

From un- + persuade.

From un- + pervert.

From un- (“lack or absence of”) + pity.

From un- + pitying.

From un- + planned.

From Middle English unplesaunt, from un- + pleasant.

From unpleasant + -ness.

From un- + plug.

From un- + plugged.

From un- + popular.

From un- + portable.

From un- + powered.

From un- + precedent + -ed.

unpredictability

From unpredictable + -ity.

From un- + predictable.

From un- + premeditated.

From un- + prepared.

From un- + pretty (verb).

From un- + preventable.

From un- + priced.

From un- + princely.

From un- + problematic.

From un- + professional.

From un- + prompted.

From un- + protected.

From un- + proven.

From un- + provoked.

From un- + published.

From un- + punishable.

From un- + punished.

From un- + puzzle.

From un- + qualified.

From un- + qualify.

From unquestionable + -ly.

From un- + quote; some suggest it began as an eggcorn of "end quote."

From un- + rail.

From un- ("reverse of") plus ravel, "to tangle" — so literally "to un-tangle."