unequivocal

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + equivocal.^[2][3][4][5] Equivocal is from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous”), from aequus (“equal”) and vocō (“to call”).^[2][4][6] The OED compares the rarer inequivocal.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not equivocal: Johnson's Dictionary (1755) has the word, with a quotation from Browne's Vulgar Errours,^[7] and Dictionary.com dates it 1745–55.^[5] The OED's first quotation is from Cowper's The Task (1785),^[2] and its 1989 edition, Merriam-Webster and Etymonline date it 1784.^[8][9][3]

Semantic evolution

The 1989 edition of the OED says the word was in common use from about 1795.^[8] The Shorter Oxford dates the adverb unequivocally to the early 18th century, earlier than the adjective.^[4] Besides "clear, unambiguous", Merriam-Webster Unabridged records the senses "stated in full and definite terms" and "final, absolute", and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate "unquestionable".^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1755 – not equivocal, in Johnson, quoting Browne.^[7]
• 1785 – clear, unambiguous, in Cowper.^[2] Merriam-Webster and Etymonline date it 1784.^[9][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Leaving no doubt; clear and unambiguous: The test results were unequivocal.^[11][9][10]
2. Stated in full and definite terms; explicit: an unequivocal promise of support.^[9]
3. Final and absolute, allowing no later change: an unequivocal no.^[9]
4. Beyond question; unquestionable: an unequivocal triumph.^[10]

Word family

• unequivocally
• unequivocalness

Related words

• equivocal
• equivocate
• univocal

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 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. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ 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.
8. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins