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Etymology and origin of the English word unsuitable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1586 before 1586, Sidney's Arcadia
Ultimate origin
English un-,suitable
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English suitable
English unsuitable

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈsuːtəbəl/, /ʌnˈsjuːtəbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + suitable.[2][3][4][5] Suitable, from the 1580s, is itself from the verb suit and -able, probably modelled on agreeable.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not suited, not fitting, followed by to or for: before 1586, in Sidney's Arcadia;[2] the OED's first example of the plain sense is from Hooker in 1597.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1590s and Dictionary.com to 1580–90.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its meaning since the late 16th century.[2][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as "not congruous; not equal; not proportionate" and quoted Shakespeare's play on richly suited, but unsuitable.[6] The noun unsuitableness is recorded from the 1580s, and a verb unsuit, to be unsuited for, from the 1630s.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1586 – not suited (to or for), in Sidney.[2]
  • 1580s – unsuitableness.[3]
  • 1597 – not suitable, inappropriate, in Hooker.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not suitable or fitting; inappropriate for a purpose, person or occasion, often followed by for or to: The film is unsuitable for young children.[7][8][9][4]
  2. Not becoming; out of keeping: an unsuitable remark at a funeral.[8][6]

Word family

  • unsuitability
  • unsuitably

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cite this entry

“Unsuitable.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unsuitable. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·