Etymologically
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unconventional

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌʌnkənˈventʃ(ə)n(ə)l/, /ˌʌnkənˈvenʃ(ə)n(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + conventional, with the negative prefix un- "not".[2][3][4][5] The adjective conventional is from Late Latin conventiōnālis (“pertaining to convention or agreement”), from conventiō (“a meeting, assembly; agreement”), a noun of action from conveniō (“to come together, agree, assemble”), formed from com- (“with, together”) and veniō (“to come”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Free in character or conduct; not bound by social or other conventions: Etymonline dates it to 1832,[3] Merriam-Webster to 1835,[6] and Dictionary.com to 1830–40.[5] The OED's first quotation is from 1840, in George Darley's introduction to the works of Beaumont and Fletcher, glossed "not limited or bound down by convention; free and easy".[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word appeared just after conventional had taken the sense "following tradition", recorded from 1831, beside the older "established by social custom" (1761).[3] Weekley called it "a 19 cent. epithet for a certain type of affectation", and quoted Somerset Maugham: "It is not difficult to be unconventional when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set".[8][3] The Historical Thesaurus places it among words for freedom from customary restraint and for behaviour that does not conform to a standard.[7] Since conventional weapons came to mean non-nuclear ones (1955),[3] unconventional weapons and warfare have been used for nuclear ones.[4] In the oil industry it has been used from 1967 of a fuel or energy source, such as oil shale, that is harder to exploit than the coal seams and oil fields worked before.[2]

Timeline

  • 1832 – free in character, not bound by convention.[3]
  • 1835 – Merriam-Webster's first known use.[6]
  • 1840 – first OED quotation, in George Darley.[2][7]
  • 1967 – of a fuel or energy source, relatively difficult to exploit.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not following accepted rules, customs or standards; out of the ordinary: She took an unconventional route to the top of her profession.[9][6][2]
  2. Free and easy in manner; unorthodox or eccentric in behaviour.[2][4]
  3. Of weapons or warfare: nuclear, or otherwise not of the ordinary kind.[4][6]
  4. Of a fuel or energy source: relatively difficult or costly to extract, as compared with ordinary oil fields and coal seams.[2]

Word family

  • unconventionality
  • unconventionally
  • unconventionalist

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins