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unparalleled

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Etymology and origin of the English word unparalleled

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1601 Ben Jonson, The Fountaine of Selfe-love
Ultimate origin
English un-,paralleled

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ʌnˈpær(ə)leld/, /ʌmˈpær(ə)leld/[1]
  • US: /ʌnˈper(ə)leld/, /ʌnˈpær(ə)leld/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + paralleled, the past participle of the verb parallel.[2][3][4][5] The OED thinks that some early spellings were influenced by nonpareil.[2] The adjective unparallel is recorded later, from the 1650s.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having no parallel or equal: the OED and Merriam-Webster date it to 1601, in Ben Jonson's Fountaine of Selfe-love;[2][3] Etymonline and Dictionary.com give the 1590s.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the same since the first records.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as not matched and having no equal, with examples from Shakespeare and Milton spelled unparallell'd.[7] Dictionary.com notes the British spelling unparallelled.[6] In modern use it often describes something unprecedented, such as a crime or a recession of unparalleled severity.[4]

Timeline

  • 1601 – having no parallel or equal.[2][3]
  • 1650s – the adjective unparallel.[5]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as having no equal.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having no parallel or equal; not matched or surpassed: The festival enjoyed unparalleled attendance this year.[8][3][2]
  2. Without precedent; never seen before.[4]

References

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

“Unparalleled.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unparalleled. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·