Etymology

unlike

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Today it means: Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike. Full definition →

Middle English unlic ← Old English unlīċ ← Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz
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unlike · adjective, preposition, noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*ungalīkaz
  2. Old English · inherited fromunlīċ
  3. Middle English · inherited fromunlic
  4. English todayunlike

From Middle English unlic, unlich, from Old English unlīċ, unġelīċ (“unlike, different, dissimilar, diverse”), from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz. By surface analysis, un- + like. Cognate with Dutch ongelijk, German ungleich, Old Norse úlíkr (see there for North Germanic descendants).

unlike · verb, noun2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromunliken
  2. English todayunlike

From Middle English unliken, unlyken, equivalent to un- + like.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.