unprecedented

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + precedent + -ed,^[2][3][4] that is, the negative prefix with precedented, the participle of a verb precedent that survives only in these adjectives.^[5][6] The OED notes that the positive adjective is recorded slightly later than the negative one.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having no precedent; never done or known before: 1641, in Lord Keeper John Finch's speech before the King.^[2][7][3] Etymonline dates it to the 1620s, and Dictionary.com to 1615–25.^[5][8]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline gives the early sense as both "unexampled" and "not in accordance with established custom", a meaning close to the legal idea of a precedent.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as not justifiable by any example, quoting Swift on an "unprecedented proceeding".^[9] The Historical Thesaurus files it under standards of conduct, beside other words for the unparalleled.^[7] The derived unprecedentedness is recorded from the late 17th century and unprecedentedly from the early 19th.^[6]

Timeline

• 1615–25 – first use, according to Dictionary.com.^[8]
• 1620s – first use, according to Etymonline.^[5]
• 1641 – unprecedented, in a speech by John Finch.^[2][3]
• late 17th century – unprecedentedness.^[6]
• 1755 – Johnson: not justifiable by any example.^[9]
• early 19th century – unprecedentedly.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Never having happened or been done before; without precedent; unparalleled: The storm caused unprecedented damage to the coast.

Word family

• unprecedentedly
• unprecedentedness

Related words

• precedent
• precede
• unparalleled

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ 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.