*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of UFO

Initialisms.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Initialism of unidentified flying object; (loosely) an alien spacecraft. · An "unfinished object" in knitting or other kinds of craft. · Initialism of ultrared flattened object.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Initialisms.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "lang_code": "et",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "word": "ovni",
      "tags": [
        "calque"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "word": "OVNI",
      "tags": [
        "calque",
        "calque"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "Ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "word": "ούφο",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "oúfo"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "yūfō"
    },
    {
      "lang_code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "lang_code": "no",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Pohnpeian",
      "lang_code": "pon",
      "word": "iuepoh",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "ovni",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "calque",
        "calque"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "word": "ovni",
      "tags": [
        "calque",
        "calque"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "word": "ufo",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "word": "UFO",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Initialism of unidentified flying object; (loosely) an alien spacecraft.",
        "An \"unfinished object\" in knitting or other kinds of craft.",
        "Initialism of ultrared flattened object."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "initialism",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "122302e71dd3f2bcae9caef053488e5a125969b00df79f3cfdafce59fd25e644",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ac2b9830089695214bb2a72baabdab504c596682bd3c23ade376c4fdf8a8d126",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 11266
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for UFO →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-VUZP