unsolved

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + solved, with the past participle of solve.^[2][3][4] The verb is from Latin solvō (“to loosen, dissolve”).^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not explained or cleared up: 1665, in the preface to R. Howard's Four New Plays.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as "not explicated" and quoted Watts on perplexities that had "hitherto been unsolved".^[5] The related unsolvable, insoluble, is recorded from the 1680s.^[4] It is now used especially of crimes, mysteries and problems that have not been solved.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1665 – not explained or cleared up.^[2][4]
• 1680s – unsolvable, that cannot be solved.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not yet solved, explained or cleared up: The disappearance of the yacht is still unsolved.^[6][3][7]

Related words

• insoluble
• dissolve
• resolve

References

1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers