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Etymology and origin of the English word unnamed

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1440 J. Capgrave, Life of St. Norbert
Ultimate origin
Old English namian

Pronunciation

  • /ˌʌnˈneɪmd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + named, the past participle of the verb name.[2][3][4] The verb is from Old English namian (“to name, call”).[3] Etymonline compares the similar formations Old Frisian unnamed and Middle Dutch ongenaemt,[3] and the OED Older Scots unnemmit, recorded from the end of the 14th century, and the earlier English unnevened.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not mentioned or specified by name: 1440, in John Capgrave's Life of Saint Norbert.[2] Etymonline dates it to the mid-15th century,[3] Merriam-Webster to the 15th century,[5] while the Shorter Oxford and Dictionary.com give the early 16th century.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was "not named, not mentioned by name";[2] Johnson (1755) gave only "not mentioned", quoting Milton's Paradise Lost ("Unnam'd in heav'n").[2][3][7] The sense "having no name, nameless" followed in 1550, in Sherry's treatise on rhetoric,[2] or in the 1610s according to Etymonline.[3] The word is also used as a noun.[2]

Timeline

  • 1440 – not mentioned or specified by name.[2]
  • 1550 – having no name, nameless.[2]
  • 1610s – nameless (Etymonline's date).[3]
  • 1755 – Johnson: not mentioned.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not identified by name: The report quoted an unnamed official in the ministry.[8][5][2]
  2. Having no name; nameless: a range of unnamed peaks.[8][2][4]
  • unnameable
  • name
  • nameless

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  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 Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

  • goose · also from Old English
  • doe · also from Old English
  • swan · also from Old English
  • ivy · also from Old English
  • borough · also from Old English
  • merry · also from Old English
  • boil · also from Old English
  • archbishop · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Unnamed.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unnamed. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·