Etymograph

English

unblithe

Unblithe comes from Old English unblīþe ‘sad, grieved’, from blīþe ‘happy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- ‘to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlī-‘light, fine, pleasant’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blīþiz‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blīþī‘happy’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150blīþe‘happy’
  6. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150unblīþe‘sad, grieved’
  7. Englishtodayunblithe

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlī-‘light, fine, pleasant’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blīþiz‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blīþī‘happy’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150blīþe‘happy’
  6. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150unblīþe‘sad, grieved’
  7. Englishtodayunblithe

Formed from un- + blithe

Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’

Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

English un-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘shiny’

…

Proto-Germanic *blīþiz ‘friendly’

Proto-West Germanic *blīþī ‘happy’

Old English blīþe ‘happy, gentle’

Middle English blithe ‘glad, happy, joyful’

English blithe

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- ‘to shine’

blow, inflation, blast, flavor, flux, fluent, bladder, confluence, fluency, feeble, inflate, flatulence, fluvial, conflate, soufflé, blare, blasé, bleat, blather, 43 more

through Proto-Germanic *blīþiz ‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’

blissful, 1 more

through Proto-West Germanic *blīþī ‘happy’

bliss, 2 more

through Old English blīþe ‘happy’

blithely, 1 more

Today it means

adj Not blithe.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- / unblithe