Etymology

unheimlich

U1N1H4E1I1M3L1I1C3H4

Today it means: Weird, uncanny. Full definition →

First used 19th c.German unheimlich
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. German · borrowed fromunheimlich
  2. German · borrowed fromunheimlich
  3. English todayunheimlich

Borrowed from German unheimlich (“unfamiliar”). Piecewise doublet of unhomely.

Words from the same roots

Germanunheimlich all →

uncanny

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. Weird, uncanny.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.