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unmarried

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Etymology and origin of the English word unmarried

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1300
Ultimate origin
Latin marītus

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ʌnˈmæɹ.id/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English unmaried,[2] formed from Middle English un- (“not”) + maried (“married”),[2][3][4][5] the prefix un- with married, the past participle of marry.[5][3] The verb came through Old French marier from Latin marītō (“to wed, marry”), from marītus (“married”).[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Refused a dowry: about 1300, according to Etymonline.[5] In the sense "not married" the OED's first record is a deed of 1423;[3] Etymonline dates it about 1400.[5]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that unmarried happens to be recorded slightly earlier than married as an adjective.[3] It was used of people from the start, and in extended use of animals without a mate.[3] In older use it was most often applied to someone who had never married,[5] whereas Merriam-Webster now records it also for the divorced and the widowed.[2] From 1536 it also described things relating to unmarried people.[3] From 1557, in the Geneva New Testament, the unmarried meant unmarried people as a class.[3][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as having no husband or no wife, quoting Bacon's remark that unmarried men are the best friends, masters and servants but not always the best subjects.[7] A verb unmarry, to divorce, is recorded from the 1520s.[5] In film work an unmarried print has picture and sound on separate reels.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – refused a dowry.[5]
  • 1423 – of a person, not married.[3]
  • 1536 – of or relating to unmarried people.[3]
  • 1557 – noun, the unmarried, unmarried people as a class.[3]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as having no husband or no wife.[7]
  • 1819 – noun, in the plural, unmarried people.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not married; single: an unmarried aunt who lived with the family.[8][2][6]
  2. Not married at present, whether never married, divorced or widowed.[2]
  3. Of or relating to people who are not married: the unmarried state.[3][4]
  4. (film) Of a print of a film, having picture and sound on separate reels.[8]

Noun

  1. A person who is not married, or, as the unmarried, unmarried people as a class.[6][3][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c 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 c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Unmarried.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unmarried. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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