unpaid

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English unpayd,^[2] from un- (“not”) and payd, the past participle of payen (“to pay”).^[2][3][4] The English verb pay comes through Anglo-Norman paier from Latin pācō (“to pacify”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a sum of money, not paid when due, still outstanding: 1371.^[3] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century in reference to people who had not received what was due to them.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word soon had most of its present uses: of a person not paid (1434), of goods not paid for (1454) and of a debt not settled (1484);^[3] Etymonline dates the use for debts to the late 15th century.^[4] Shakespeare used it of a duty not performed,^[3] and Johnson (1755) defined it as "not discharged", with quotations about tribute, vows and rites unpaid.^[5] Work done without pay is called unpaid from about 1775.^[3] From 1824 the Great Unpaid was a name for the unpaid magistrates and justices of the peace,^[3][6][7] and unpaid leave, time off work without pay, is recorded from 1842.^[3]

Timeline

• 1371 – of a sum of money, not paid.^[3]
• c. 1422 – figurative use (Hoccleve).^[3]
• 1434 – of a person, not having received payment.^[3]
• 1454 – of goods, not paid for.^[3]
• 1484 – of a debt, not settled.^[3]
• a1616 – of a duty, not discharged (Shakespeare).^[3]
• c. 1775 – of work, done without pay.^[3]
• 1824 – the Great Unpaid, unpaid magistrates.^[3]
• 1842 – of time, spent working or on leave without pay.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of a bill or debt, not yet paid: a pile of unpaid invoices.
2. Working without pay: an unpaid helper.
3. Of work or time, done or spent without pay: three months' unpaid leave.
4. Owed wages that have not been paid.

Noun

1. the unpaid: unpaid workers as a group; historically, the Great Unpaid, unpaid magistrates.

Related words

• pay
• paid

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray