Etymology

unfold

U1N1F4O1L1D2

Today it means: To undo a folding. Full definition →

Middle English unfolden ← Old English unfealdan
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unfold · verb, noun1

  1. Old English · inherited fromunfealdan“to unfold”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromunfolden
  3. English todayunfold

From Middle English unfolden, from Old English unfealdan (“to unfold”), equivalent to un- + fold.

unfold · verb2

  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. Englishfold
  10. English todayunfold

From un- + fold (“to confine into a fold or pen”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.