Etymologically
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uncut

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ʌnˈkʌt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + cut,[2][3][4][5] the negative prefix with the past participle of the verb cut.[3][4] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com give the Middle English form as unkitt or unkyt, from kitt (“cut”).[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person, not cut, gashed or wounded: about 1426, in the poems of John Audelay;[2] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

From the mid 16th century the word was used more generally of things not cut, mown or lopped (1548) and of things not shaped by cutting (1596).[2] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "not cut", quoting Waller's trees uncut.[7] The book trade gave it two senses: of a book whose margins have not been trimmed (1809) and of one whose leaves have not been slit open (1828).[2][3] From 1896 it was used of plays, films and texts given without cuts or omissions.[2][3] In slang uncut means pure, not diluted: Green's Dictionary of Slang has it of whisky in 1930 and of drugs from 1959,[8] while the OED and Etymonline record the sense from 1967.[2][3] It also means uncircumcised, from 1913 in the OED[2] and in American gay slang from 1978.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1426 – not cut or wounded.[2]
  • 1548 – not severed by cutting; not mown or lopped.[2]
  • 1596 – not shaped by cutting.[2]
  • 1698 – of tobacco, not cut into pieces.[2]
  • 1809 – of a book, with the margins not trimmed.[2][3]
  • 1828 – of a book, with the leaves not slit open.[2][3]
  • 1896 – of a text or performance, not shortened; without omissions.[2][3]
  • 1913 – uncircumcised.[2]
  • 1930 – undiluted, pure.[8] The OED and Etymonline first record this sense in 1967.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not cut, trimmed or mown: uncut hay.[6][4]
  2. Of a gemstone, not cut and faceted: an uncut ruby.[9][6]
  3. Of a film, play or text, not abridged or shortened: the uncut version of the film.[9][6][2]
  4. Of a book, having the edges of the pages not trimmed, or the leaves not slit open.[9][6][2]
  5. Of a drug, not diluted or adulterated; pure.[2][8]
  6. Not circumcised.[2][8]

Word family

  • uncuttable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c 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 e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c d e Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins