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Etymology and origin of the English word unused

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1297 Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle
Ultimate origin
English use

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ʌnˈjuːzd/, /ʌnˈjuːst/[1]
  • US: /ʌnˈjuzd/, /ʌnˈjust/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + used, the past participle of the verb use.[2][3][4][5] Dictionary.com dates it to 1250–1300 in Middle English.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Unaccustomed, not used to something: 1297, in Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle,[2] c. 1300 in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense "not made use of, not employed" followed in 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew's encyclopedia,[2] or in the late 14th century according to Etymonline.[3] From 1513 the word could also mean "unusual, unwonted", a sense the OED now marks archaic.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it first as "not put to use; unemployed".[7] The two main senses are now told apart by pronunciation: unused to, unaccustomed, ends in /st/, like used to, while unused, not used, ends in /zd/.[8][4]

Timeline

  • 1297 – unaccustomed (to something).[2]
  • 1398 – not made use of; unemployed.[2]
  • 1513 – unusual, unwonted (now archaic).[2]
  • 1755 – Johnson defines it as not put to use.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not being used, or never having been used: an unused ticket.[8][5][2]
  2. unused to: not accustomed to something: The farm boy was unused to the noise of the city.[8][5][2]
  3. Remaining to be used; accrued: unused vacation days.[5]
  4. (archaic) Unusual, not customary.[2][4]
  • use
  • used
  • disused
  • misuse

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 c d 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. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Unused.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/unused. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·