Etymograph

English

unknown

Unknown comes from Middle English *unknowen, and goes back to Old English unġecnāwen.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150unġecnāwen1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*unknowen1reconstructed
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1897unknown1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English unknown
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150unġecnāwenWiktionary, English unknown
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*unknowenWiktionary, English unknownreconstructed
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1897unknownWiktionary, English unknown. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short…”

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Today it means

adj Not known; unidentified; not well known.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unknown”. 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 / Old English unġecnāwen / unknown