Etymology

unblock

U1N1B3L1O1C3K5

Today it means: To remove or clear a block or obstruction from. Full definition →

English block ← Middle English on- ← Old English on-
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Germanic*anda-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*anda-
  5. Old Englishand-
  6. Old Englishon-
  7. Middle Englishon-
  8. Englishun-
  9. Englishblock
  10. English todayunblock

From un- + block.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.