Etymologically
Log in

unfounded

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word unfounded

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1648 Hexham's Groot Woorden-boeck
Ultimate origin
Latin fundus

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈfaʊndɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + founded,[2][3][4][5] the past participle of found, to lay the base of, establish;[3][4] the verb is from Old French fonder, from Latin fundō (“to lay the bottom or foundation”), from fundus (“bottom, foundation”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having no foundation or basis: 1648, in Hexham's Groot Woorden-boeck, a Dutch–English dictionary.[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word was used from the start chiefly in the figurative sense "groundless, unwarranted", of ideas, fears or claims.[2][3] Merriam-Webster records an obsolete literal sense "bottomless, unstable", in Milton's the unfounded deep.[4] Middle English had a verb unfound, to destroy a foundation, from the mid 15th century,[3] and the MED records a participle unfounded before 1400, in the Siege of Jerusalem.[6] Collins also gives the sense "not yet founded or established".[7]

Timeline

  • 1648 – having no foundation; groundless.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having no sound basis in fact or reason; groundless, baseless: unfounded rumours about the company.[7][4][2]
  2. Not yet founded or established.[7]

Word family

  • unfoundedly
  • unfoundedness

References

  1. ^ 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 d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Unfounded.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unfounded. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·