*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of unred

From Middle English unrede (“not red, pale, whitish”), from Old English *unrēad, from Proto-West Germanic *unraud (“not red”), equivalent to un- + red. Cognate with Old High German unrōt (“not red, whitish”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary 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 ↗
adj

Not red.

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

From Middle English unrede (“not red, pale, whitish”), from Old English *unrēad, from Proto-West Germanic *unraud (“not red”), equivalent to un- + red. Cognate with Old High German unrōt (“not red, whitish”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionunredeenm · not red, pale, whitish
  • Inherited-form mention*unrēadang
  • Inherited-form mention*unraudgmw-pro · not red
  • Cognate mentionunrōtgoh · not red, whitish
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "unrede",
        "t": "not red, pale, whitish"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English unrede (“not red, pale, whitish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*unrēad"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *unrēad"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*unraud",
        "t": "not red"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *unraud (“not red”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "pre",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "un-",
        "3": "red",
        "id1": "negative"
      },
      "expansion": "un- + red"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "unrōt",
        "t": "not red, whitish"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German unrōt (“not red, whitish”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "unrede",
      "unrede#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*unrēad",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/unread"
    ],
    [
      "*unraud",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/unraud"
    ],
    [
      "un-",
      "un-#English:_negative"
    ],
    [
      "red",
      "red#English"
    ],
    [
      "unrōt",
      "unrot#Old_High_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Not red."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "3dd2e916e17484684cf832c13529c62c7aeaad865b9be12fb911852abbc6d8cf",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c56da7c80875ed83576ecbf6a0ce5506219af8b4e2bd7efd51844e5e3c9e9043",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4377705
    }
  ],
  "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 unred →

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-dW5yZWQ