unlief

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*unleubaz“not dear, unpleasant”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*unleub“unloved, unpleasant”
3. Old English · inherited fromunlēof“not dear, not beloved, odious, hateful”
4. Middle English · inherited fromunleeffe
5. English todayunlief

From Middle English unleeffe, unlef, from Old English unlēof (“not dear, not beloved, odious, hateful”), from Proto-West Germanic *unleub (“unloved, unpleasant”), from Proto-Germanic *unleubaz (“not dear, unpleasant”). By surface analysis, un- + lief. Cognate with Dutch onlief, German unlieb, Icelandic óljúfur (“unpleasant”).