Etymograph

English

unfold

Unfold comes from Old English unfealdan ‘to unfold’, from fealdan ‘to fold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1‘to fold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*falþaną2‘to fold’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*falþan2‘to fold’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fealdan3‘to fold’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150unfealdan4‘to unfold’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unfolden4
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602unfold4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *falþaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English fealdan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English unfealdan
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English unfold
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *falþaną‘to fold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*falþanąWiktionary, Old English fealdan‘to fold’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*falþanWiktionary, Old English fealdan‘to fold’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fealdanWiktionary, Old English unfealdan‘to fold’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150unfealdanWiktionary, English unfold‘to unfold’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unfoldenWiktionary, English unfold
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602unfoldWiktionary, English unfold. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to fold’

film, felt, simple, simply, push, filter, powder, complain, pulse, pillow, repeal, flaw, palate, compulsive, expel, pollen, repel, palpable, palladium, propel, palatable, pall, pelt, wallow, peloton, tuple, polemic, palatal, muffle, pollinate, apoplexy, peplum, pulver, palp, pillion, interpolate, 63 more

Today it means

verb To undo a folding.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unfold”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *falþaną, Old English fealdan, Old English unfealdan. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pel- / unfold

Shirt and support for this word