Etymologically
Log in

undated

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word undated

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈdeɪtɪd/[1]

undated1 wavy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing, Derivation
First attested
1486 the Book of St Albans
Borrowed from
Latin undatus
Ultimate origin
Latin unda

Etymology

The word for wavy is borrowed from Medieval Latin undātus (“waved, wavy”), with the English suffix -ed,[2][3] from Latin unda (“a wave”),[2][3][4][5] the source of undulation.[4] Etymonline notes that Latin also had the adjective undabundus (“full of waves”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In heraldry, wavy, the same as undee: 1486, in the Book of St Albans.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 15th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

From heraldry the word passed to natural history: in 1783 the ornithologist J. Latham used it of birds with wavy markings,[2] and Webster's dictionary of 1828 applied it in botany, meaning waved.[6] The Shorter Oxford marks the word as now rare or obsolete.[3]

Timeline

  • 1486 – in heraldry, wavy.[2][4]
  • 1783 – having wavy markings, of birds.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (heraldry) wavy, the same as undee; now rare.[2][3]
  2. (zoology, botany) Having wavy markings; waved.[2][3]

undated2 not dated

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1570 J. Foxe, Actes and Monumentes
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *un-English dated

Etymology

The word meaning “not dated” is formed from English un- + dated,[7][3][8][4] the past participle of the verb date.[7][4] The OED allows either that or a formation from the prefix, the noun and the suffix -ed.[2] Similar formations are German undatirt, Dutch ongedateerd and Swedish odaterad.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not marked with a date: 1570, in the revised edition of J. Foxe's Actes and Monumentes.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1560s,[4] and the Shorter Oxford to the late 16th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

In 1624 F. Quarles used the word for having no fixed date or limit, unending,[2] a sense that survives in finance for securities with no date of maturity.[7] In 1878 W. C. Smith used it of a time marked by no striking events.[2] The American Heritage Dictionary adds a sense of lasting appeal that never goes out of style.[9]

Timeline

  • 1570 – not marked with a date.[2][3] Etymonline gives the 1560s.[4]
  • 1624 – having no fixed date or limit; unending.[2]
  • 1878 – marked by no striking events.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not marked with a date: an undated photograph found in a drawer.[10][7][9][2]
  2. Having no fixed date of ending or maturity: undated bonds.[7][2]
  3. Having a lasting appeal that never goes out of fashion; timeless.[9][1]

References

  1. ^ a b 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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
  6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Undated.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/undated. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·