Etymologically
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unsolicited

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌʌnsəˈlɪsɪtɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + solicit + -ed, the adjective being the negative of the past participle of the verb.[2][3][4][5][6] The verb is from Old French soliciter and directly from Latin sollicitō (“to disturb, rouse, harass”), from sollicitus (“agitated”), from sollus (“whole, entire”) and citus (“aroused”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person, not approached with a request; unasked: 1594, in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.[2] Etymonline dates this sense, "unpetitioned", to the 1580s,[3] and the Shorter Oxford to the late 16th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, of a thing not asked for but given or done freely, is recorded from 1687, in the Marquis of Halifax's Letter to a Dissenter;[2] Etymonline also dates it to the 1680s.[3] In 1750 Samuel Johnson used it in the Rambler of a woman not asked in marriage.[2] A sense "not affected or influenced" appears in 1857, in W. A. Miller's Elements of Chemistry.[2] The Shorter Oxford notes the specific use for a manuscript sent to a publisher who did not ask for it.[4]

Timeline

  • 1594 – of a person, not asked or approached with a request.[2]
  • 1687 – not asked for; given or done voluntarily.[2][3]
  • 1750 – not asked in marriage.[2]
  • 1857 – not affected or influenced.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not asked for or requested; given, sent or offered without being invited: She ignored her uncle's unsolicited opinions about her career.[7][5][2]
  2. Of a manuscript, sent to a publisher without having been requested.[4]
  3. Of a person, not approached with a request; unasked.[5][2][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 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. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins