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unplug

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Etymology and origin of the English word unplug

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1765 Kirkpatrick's translation of Tissot More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origins
Proto-Germanic *un-Dutch plug
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English plug
English unplug

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈplʌɡ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + plug,[2][3][4][5] with the prefix of reversal or removal, as in undo.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To remove a plug or blockage from something, to unblock: 1765, in James Kirkpatrick's translation of Tissot.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to 1775,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1765–75.[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline finds the word used of electrical plugs by 1876,[3] and the Shorter Oxford dates that sense to the late 19th century;[5] the OED's first quotation for disconnecting an electrical device by pulling its plug from the socket is from 1926, in an Ohio newspaper.[2] In 1991 an intransitive sense appeared, to stay away from electronic devices, especially computers and smartphones, for a while,[2] and Collins records an informal sense, to relax.[7] The past participle unplugged took the musical sense "played on acoustic instruments" in 1968.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1765 – to remove a plug or blockage from; to unblock.[2][4]
  • 1876 – of electrical devices.[3] The OED dates the sense to disconnect a device by removing its plug to 1926.[2]
  • 1991 – intransitive, to stop using electronic devices for a time.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To disconnect an electrical appliance by pulling its plug out of the socket: Unplug the kettle before you clean it.[7][4][8][2]
  2. To remove a plug or other obstruction from something; to unblock: They unplugged the drain with a wire.[7][4][8][2]
  3. To pull an electric plug out of an outlet.[8][4]
  4. (informal) To stop using electronic devices for a while; to relax.[2][7]

Word family

  • unpluggable
  • unplugged

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Unplug.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unplug. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·