unarmed

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + armed, with the prefix meaning "not".^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline allows that it may instead be the past participle of the verb unarm, to strip of armour (about 1300),^[5][6] and the Middle English Dictionary records the word only as a participle of unarmen, formed from armen (“to arm”).^[7] Johnson (1755) also derived the adjective from the verb.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Without armour or weapons: 1297, in Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle.^[2] Etymonline gives about 1300, with the sense "with armour removed".^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the participle meant both "with one's armour taken off" and "without armour or protection", also figuratively.^[7][5] Etymonline dates the sense "weaponless, not fitted for attack" to the late 14th century,^[5] and Chaucer used the word once and Gower twice.^[9] From 1398, in Trevisa, it was used of animals with no horns, teeth or other means of defence, such as a bee without a sting or a sheep without horns,^[2][7] while from 1682, in Nehemiah Grew, of plants without prickles or thorns.^[2] Dryden used it in 1693 of things not provided with anything that strengthens them,^[2] while an unarmed magnet, from about 1680 to 1777, was one without an armature.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "having no armour; having no weapons".^[8] The phrase unarmed combat, fighting without weapons, is recorded from 1947, in Nevil Shute.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1297 – without armour or weapons.^[2]
• c. 1300 – with armour removed.^[5][7]
• late 14th century – weaponless.^[5]
• 1398 – of animals, without horns, teeth or the like.^[2]
• c. 1680–1777 – of a magnet, without an armature (obsolete).^[2]
• 1682 – of plants, without prickles or thorns.^[2]
• 1693 – of things, without anything that strengthens them.^[2]
• 1947 – unarmed combat.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Carrying no weapons or armour: The guards were ordered not to fire on the unarmed crowd.
2. Of animals and plants, having no claws, spines, thorns or similar parts.
3. Of a projectile, not using a detonator to set off its explosive.
4. unarmed combat: fighting without weapons.

Related words

• arm
• armed
• unarm
• disarm

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme