| un- | <prefix> An inseparable prefix, or particle, signifying not; in-; non-. In- is prefixed mostly to words of Latin origin, or else to words formed by Latin suffixes; un- is of much wider application, and is attached at will to almost any adjective, or participle used adjectively, or adverb, from which it may be desired to form a corresponding negative adjective or adverb, and is also, but less freely, prefixed to nouns. Un- sometimes has merely an intensive force; as in unmerciless, unremorseless. Un- is prefixed to adjectives, or to words used adjectively. Specifically, to adjectives, to denote the absence of the quality designated by the adjective; as To present particles which come from intransitive verbs, or are themselves employed as adjectives, to mark the absence of the activity, disposition, or condition implied by the participle; as, - and the like. The above classes of words are unlimited in extent, and such compounds may be formed by any writer or speaker at will from almost all the adjectives or participles in the language, excepting those which have a recognised and usual negative correspondent with the prefix -in. No attempt will be made, therefore, to define them all in this Dictionary; many will be omitted from its Vocabulary which are negations of the simple word, and are readily explained by prefixing a not to the latter. Derivatives of these words in -ly and -ness will also, for the most part, be omitted for the same or similar reasons. There will be inserted as separate articles with definitions, the following: 1. Those which have acquired an opposed or contrary, instead of a merely negative, meaning; as, unfriendly, ungraceful, unpalatable, unquiet, and the like; or else an intensive sense more than a prefixed not would express; as, unending, unparalleled, undisciplined, undoubted, unsafe, and the like. Those which have the value of independent words, inasmuch as the simple words are either not used at all, or are rarely, or at least much less frequently, used; as, unavoidable, unconscionable, undeniable, unspeakable, unprecedented, unruly, and the like; or inasmuch as they are used in a different sense from the usual meaning of the primitive, or especially in one of the significations of the latter; as, unaccountable, unalloyed, unbelieving, unpretending, unreserved, and the like; or inasmuch as they are so frequently and familiarly used that they are hardly felt to be of negative origin; as, uncertain, uneven, and the like. Those which are anomalous, provincial, or, for some other reason, not desirable to be used, and are so indicated; as, unpure for impure, unsatisfaction for dissatisfaction, unexpressible for inexpressible, and the like. Un- is prefixed to nouns to express the absence of, or the contrary of, that which the noun signifies; as, unbelief, unfaith, unhealth, unrest, untruth, and the like. Compounds of this last class are given in full in their proper order in the Vocabulary. Origin: OE. & AS. Un-; akin to OFries. Un-, D. On-, OS, OHG, & G. Un-, Icel. O-, u-, Sw. O-, Dan. U-, W. An-, L. In-, Gr, Skr. An-, a-. 193. Cf. A- not In- not, No. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| un-romanised | 1. Not subjected to Roman arms or customs. 2. Not subjected to the principles or usages of the Roman Catholic Church. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unabsorbable | <physiology> Not absorbable; specifically, not capable of absorption; unable to pass by osmosis into the circulating blood; as, the unabsorbable portion of food. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unalist | An ecclesiastical who holds but one benefice; distinguished from pluralist. Origin: L. Unus one. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unarmed rostellum | Rostellum lacking hooks. (05 Mar 2000) |
| unau | <zoology> The two-toed sloth (Cholopus didactylus), native of South America. It is about two feet long. Its colour is a uniform grayish brown, sometimes with a reddish tint. Origin: Brazilian. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unavoidable | 1. Not avoidable; incapable of being shunned or prevented; inevitable; necessary; as, unavoidable troubles. 2. Not voidable; incapable of being made null or void. <medicine> Unavoidable hemorrhage, hemorrhage produced by the afterbirth, or placenta, being situated over the mouth of the womb so as to require detachment before the child can be born. Unavoid"ableness, Unavoid"ably. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unavoidable haemorrhage | An obsolete term for haemorrhage occurring during labour in cases of placenta previa, as distinguished from accidental haemorrhage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| unbalanced translocation | <genetics, molecular biology> A genetic translocation that results in the loss of a part of a chromosome or causes other genome damage. (09 Oct 1997) |
| unbark | To deprive of the bark; to decorticate; to strip; as, to unbark a tree. Origin: 1st pref. Un- + bark rind. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unbending | 1. Not bending; not suffering flexure; not yielding to pressure; stiff; applied to material things. "Flies o'er unbending corn, and skims along the main." (Pope) 2. Unyielding in will; not subject to persuasion or influence; inflexible; resolute; applied to persons. 3. Unyielding in nature; unchangeable; fixed; applied to abstract ideas; as, unbending truths. 4. Devoted to relaxation or amusement. "It may entertain your lordships at an unbending hour." (Rowe) Unbend"ingly, Unbend"ingness. Origin: In senses 1, 2, and 3, pref. Un- not + bending; in sense 4, properly p. Pr. Unbend. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unbloody | Not bloody. Unbloody sacrifice. A sacrifice in which no victim is slain. The Mass. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unbreathed | 1. Not breathed. 2. Not exercised; unpracticed. "Their unbreathed memories." Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| unc 6 | <molecular biology> Gene identified in studies of neuronal development of the worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. Homologous to netrin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| uncal | Denoting or relating to the uncus. (05 Mar 2000) |