English
unmake
Unmake comes from Middle English unmaken ‘to unmake, to destroy, to kill’, from maken ‘to make or create’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *makaz ‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makaz‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mak‘fit, suitable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*makōn‘to make suitable’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150macian‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maken‘to make or create’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500unmaken‘to unmake, to destroy, to kill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1936unmake
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makaz‘fit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mak‘fit, suitable’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*makōn‘to make suitable’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150macian‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maken‘to make or create’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500unmaken‘to unmake, to destroy, to kill’
- Englishearliest quotation 1936unmake
Earliest quotation: 1936, Nathalia Crane, Swear By the Night and Other Poems: “Let go the lure The striving to unmake”.
Proto-Indo-European *n̥- ‘not, un-’
Proto-Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
Proto-West Germanic *un- ‘not, un-’
English un-
Proto-Germanic *makaz ‘fit, suitable, agreeable’
Proto-West Germanic *mak ‘fit, suitable’
Proto-West Germanic *makōn ‘to make suitable; to build, make’
Old English macian ‘to make, build, work’
Middle English maken
English make
Linked words
through Old English macian ‘to perform or carry out (a miracle)’
through Middle English maken ‘to make or create’
Today it means
verb To destroy or take apart; to cause (a made article) to lose its nature.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *makaz / unmake