Etymograph

English

unlike

Unlike comes from Old English unlīċ ‘unlike, different, dissimilar, diverse’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ungalīkaz1‘different’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150unlīċ1‘unlike’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unlic1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1906unlike1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English unlike
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Railway master mechanic: “The earth is unlike the wire in size, resistance,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ungalīkazWiktionary, English unlike‘different’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150unlīċWiktionary, English unlike‘unlike’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unlicWiktionary, English unlike
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1906unlikeWiktionary, English unlike. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Railway master mechanic: “The earth is unlike the wire in size, resistance,…”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz

Another origin of unlike

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500unliken
  2. Englishtodayunlike

Today it means

adj Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unlike”. 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-Germanic *ungalīkaz / unlike

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