Etymologically
Log in

unfriendly

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word unfriendly

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1425 Rolls of Parliament
Ultimate origin
English un-,friendly

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈfɹɛn(d)li/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + friendly,[2][3][4][5] in Middle English unfrendli, also unfrendeli.[6][5] Old English already had the adverb unfrēondlīce (“in an unfriendly manner”),[7][3][8] from frēondlīc (“friendly”).[7] Similar formations are West Frisian ûnfrjeonlik, Middle Dutch onvriendelijc, Middle High German unvriuntlîch and German unfreundlich.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not characteristic of a friend; showing dislike or hostility: 1425, in the Rolls of Parliament, which speak of "unfrendely love", a state of hostility.[2][6] The Paston letters of the same year mention an "vn frendly lettre".[6]

Semantic evolution

The adverb, "in an unfriendly manner", is recorded in the Old English poem Genesis and is now rare.[2][4][7] The adjective was used of people with the disposition of an enemy from 1483, when the Catholicon Anglicum glossed it with Latin inhumanus,[2][6] and of things that are not favourable or propitious from before 1513.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "not benevolent; not kind".[9] Since the late 20th century it has also been the opposite of friendly in the sense of user-friendly: first in computing (1978), then of anything harmful to the user or the environment, often in compounds such as user-unfriendly.[2] As a noun, chiefly American and colloquial, an unfriendly is a hostile person or an opponent (1973).[2]

Timeline

  • 1425 – hostile, not like a friend.[2][6]
  • 1483 – ill-disposed, inimical.[2]
  • before 1513 – unfavourable, not propitious.[2]
  • 1973 – noun, an enemy or opponent.[2]
  • 1978 – not user-friendly; later harmful to the environment.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not friendly; cold, unwelcoming or hostile: The new neighbours gave us an unfriendly stare.[5][10][2]
  2. Not well disposed; unsympathetic or opposed: an unfriendly critic.[5][2]
  3. Not favourable or agreeable: an unfriendly climate.[10][2][4]
  4. Not easy for its users to deal with; harmful to something named, as in environmentally unfriendly.[2]

Adverb

  1. (rare) In an unfriendly manner.[10][4][2]

Word family

  • unfriendliness
  • user-unfriendly

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 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 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. ^ a b c d e 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 Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Unfriendly.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unfriendly. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·