Etymologically
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unlucky

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Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈlʌki/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + lucky,[2][3][4][5][6] like West Frisian ûnlokkich and Middle Low German unluckich;[2][3] the OED also compares German unglücklich.[2] The base adjective, formed from luck and -y, is recorded from about 1450.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bringing, or believed to bring, bad luck; ill-omened: 1519, in Horman's Vulgaria.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1520s, in the sense "ill-fated, marked by misfortune",[3] and Merriam-Webster gives 1530 for that sense.[4]

Semantic evolution

The OED records the senses in quick succession: marked by misfortune or failure from 1530, in Palsgrave, and having bad luck, earlier also lacking success, from 1542, in Elyot.[2] Etymonline dates them differently: "boding ill" from the 1540s, "having bad luck" from the 1550s and "bringing bad luck" from the 1580s.[3] From before 1586, in Sidney's Arcadia, unlucky also meant harmful or malicious, and later in a weaker sense troublesome or mischievous;[2] Johnson (1755) gave "slightly mischievous; mischievously waggish", and noted that the main sense was generally used of slightly vexing accidents.[7] The mischievous sense lived on in English dialects, from Cumberland and Yorkshire to Cheshire, Shropshire and Sussex: in Cheshire a cow that kept breaking through fences was called unlucky.[8][2] The word was also used of a vicious horse (1678–1848).[2] From 1628, in Felltham's Resolves, it could describe something regrettable or ill-advised.[2]

Timeline

  • 1519 – bringing bad luck, ill-omened.[2]
  • 1530 – marked by misfortune or failure.[2][4]
  • 1542 – having bad luck; unsuccessful.[2]
  • before 1586 – harmful, malicious; later mischievous.[2]
  • 1628 – regrettable, unwelcome.[2]
  • 1678 – of a horse, vicious (obsolete by 1848).[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having or meeting with bad luck; unfortunate: The unlucky driver had two flat tyres in one week.[9][4][2]
  2. Marked by misfortune or failure: It was an unlucky season for the club.[9][4][2]
  3. Thought to bring bad luck; ill-omened or inauspicious: Some sailors think it unlucky to whistle on board.[9][4][2]
  4. Regrettable or disappointing.[9][2]
  5. (British dialect) Causing trouble; mischievous.[9][4][8]

Word family

  • unluckily
  • unluckiness

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 s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ 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 Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins