undisturbed

Etymology

It is formed from English un- (“not”) + disturbed,^[2][3][4][5] the adjective being the past participle of disturb.^[5][6] The adjective is recorded from the 1590s, in the sense "agitated, put out of a settled order".^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not disturbed or interfered with, used predicatively: before 1610, in John Healey's translation of Epictetus's Manual (printed 1636).^[2] Etymonline dates the word to about 1600, with the sense "free from interruption, not molested or hindered".^[3] The Shorter Oxford likewise places it in the early 17th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its plain sense of "not disturbed" throughout.^[2][5] The construction with by (formerly also with) followed in 1656, in Cowley's Davideis,^[2] and the attributive use, of things, places or persons, from 1627, in Thomas May's translation of Lucan.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED dated the attributive use of conditions and courses of action ("undisturbed possession") to 1647, the current OED to 1702, in Clarendon's History of the Rebellion.^[7][2] Johnson (1755) defined it as free from perturbation, calm, tranquil, quoting Milton and Dryden.^[8] Its derivatives undisturbedly and undisturbedness are recorded from the mid 17th century.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1610 – in predicative use, not disturbed or interfered with.^[2]
• 1627 – attributive, of things, places or persons.^[2]
• 1656 – constructed with by, not disturbed by something.^[2]
• 1702 – attributive, of conditions or courses of action.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not disturbed, moved or interfered with: The old letters lay undisturbed in the attic for decades.^[9][5][4]
2. Not interrupted: eight hours of undisturbed rest.^[9][2]
3. Calm and free from worry; tranquil.^[4][8]

Related words

• disturb
• disturbance
• perturb
• turbulent

References

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