English word origin

Etymology of dunno

Written form of an informal pronunciation of don't know that is a reduction of do not know or does not know.

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 ↗

contraction

Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.

noun

An utterance of the word dunno.

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

Written form of an informal pronunciation of don't know that is a reduction of do not know or does not know.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "don't",
      "don't#English"
    ],
    [
      "know",
      "know#English"
    ],
    [
      "do",
      "do"
    ],
    [
      "not",
      "not"
    ],
    [
      "know",
      "know"
    ],
    [
      "does",
      "does"
    ],
    [
      "not",
      "not"
    ],
    [
      "know",
      "know"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "contraction",
      "glosses": [
        "Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "contraction",
        "informal",
        "pronunciation-spelling"
      ],
      "recordId": "bae292c1eef69c225f9ac5e1c935db2e67ce3e7a2aba97e788454b38401d0cb7",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 314830
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An utterance of the word dunno."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d8b0f295aaad23c2c698d99f763c76e5dc78caa2dc9585c57188744a8520a190",
      "rawRecordSha256": "53c48db9eecd68138594d0198c2568519b76a63eb0148aae82bedf50377b5c4b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 314831
    }
  ],
  "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 dunno →

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-ZHVubm8