unrestricted
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Pronunciation
Etymology
It is formed from English un- + restricted, "not" and "limited, confined".[2][3][4] Restricted itself is formed from the verb restrict.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Not restricted, unlimited: 1750, in R. Morris's Rural Architecture, in the OED's revised entry of 2014.[2] The OED's first edition and Etymonline date the word to 1766.[5][3]
Semantic evolution
The word has kept its one general sense, "free of limits or restrictions", since it was first recorded.[2][4] The adverb unrestrictedly and the noun unrestrictedness followed in the mid 19th century.[4] Wiktionary also records the sense "having no security classification".[6]
Timeline
- 1750 – not restricted, unlimited.[2] The OED's first edition and Etymonline date it to 1766.[5][3]
- 1844 – the adverb unrestrictedly.[5]
Meanings
Adjective
- Not limited or restricted in any way; free or open to all: Visitors have unrestricted use of the reading room.[7][8][2]
- Having no security classification; not secret.[6]
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster