unkempt
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From earlier unkembed, unkemmed, from Middle English unkempt (“uncombed”), equivalent to un- + kempt. Compare Old Norse úkembdr (uncombed; unkempt"; > Icelandic ókembdur), German ungekämmt (“unkempt”), Dutch ongekamd. More at kemb.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]unkempt (comparative more unkempt, superlative most unkempt)
- (of hair) Uncombed; dishevelled.
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 289:
- Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane, shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair.
- (by extension) Disorderly; untidy; messy; not kept up.
- unkempt bedroom
- (figurative) Rough; unpolished
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]dishevelled; untidy; dirty; not kept up
References
[edit]- James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Uncompt”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume X, Part 1 (Ti–U), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 95, column 1.
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