unproductive

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + productive.^[2][3][4] Productive is from French productif and Medieval Latin productivus, from prōdūcō (“to bring forth”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

That does not produce something specified, used with of: before 1676, in a work by M. Hale published in 1677.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1676,^[5] and Etymonline to the 1690s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Used without of, it meant failing to produce anything useful, ineffectual, from 1713.^[2] Of land and crops it meant yielding little or nothing from 1725.^[2][3] In economics it is used of labour or activity that adds nothing to exchangeable value.^[6][7] In linguistics, from 1916, an unproductive affix is one no longer used to form new words.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1676 – not producing something specified.^[2][5]
• 1713 – producing nothing useful, ineffectual.^[2]
• 1725 – of land or crops, yielding little.^[2]
• 1916 – in linguistics, of an affix, no longer used to form words.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not producing much or anything useful; fruitless: an unproductive meeting.^[7][5][6][2]
2. Of land or crops, yielding little or nothing.^[2][3]
3. (economics) Not producing goods or services with exchange value.^[7][6]
4. (linguistics) Of an affix, no longer used to form new words.^[2]

Word family

• unproductively
• unproductiveness
• unproductivity

Related words

• productive
• produce

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. ^ 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins