unsung

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + sung, the past participle of sing;^[2][3][4][5] the Middle English form was unsongen.^[6] The OED and Etymonline compare Middle High German ungesungen, German ungesungen and Swedish osjungen.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not sung: before 1426, in a record of proceedings in Chancery, which says it would be better for the bell to go unrung at the Sanctus than for the mass to go unsung.^[2][6] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it was used of the mass, "not celebrated", and of a chant left out, as the Alleluia in Lent.^[6] The figurative sense, "not celebrated in song", is first recorded in Milton's Paradise Lost (1667),^[2][3] and Johnson (1755) defined the word as "not celebrated in verse; not recited in verse", quoting Milton and Addison.^[7] The Mapping Metaphor project places the sense among words that express contempt in terms of music, from the second half of the 17th century.^[8] In modern use it means "not praised or recognized", especially in unsung hero.^[5][9][4]

Timeline

• before 1426 – not sung, of the mass.^[2][6]
• 1667 – not celebrated in song, in Milton.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not praised or recognized as it deserves: the unsung volunteers who keep the shelter running.^[9][4][5]
2. Not sung: The last verse was left unsung.^[9][4][2]

Related words

• sing
• song

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 d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus, University of Glasgow, mappingmetaphor.arts.gla.ac.uk
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins