Etymograph

English

ungodly

Ungodly comes from Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥-‘not, un-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*un-‘not, un-’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘not, un-’reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ungodli
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1604ungodly

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥-‘not, un-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*un-‘not, un-’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘not, un-’reconstructed
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ungodli
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1604ungodly

Earliest quotation: 1604, Jeremy Corderoy, A Short Dialogve: “[N]ow ſuch as liue vngodly, vvithout a care of…”

Formed from un- + godly

Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’

Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’

English un-

The story

Godli is derived from Old English godlīċ (‘divine, godlike; godly’), from god (‘god’) + -līċ (‘suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’’). The English word may be analysed as un- + godly, and is cognate with Middle Dutch ongodelijc (modern Dutch ongoddelijk), Middle High German ungötlich (modern German ungöttlich), Old Norse óguðligr (‘ungodly’) (Danish ugudelig, Icelandic óguðlegur), Swedish ogudlig.

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Today it means

adj Of a person: lacking reverence for God; of an action: not in accordance with God's will or religious teachings.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *n̥- / ungodly

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