unberufen

U1N1B3E1R1U1F4E1N1

interjection

Touch wood; knock on wood; an injunction to fate that nothing will go wrong.

OriginGerman unberufen →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

interjection
  1. datedTouch wood; knock on wood; an injunction to fate that nothing will go wrong.

    " Unberufen !" he cried. "Unberufen!" she echoed. Then their glances met and they laughed...

    1904, Ralph Henry Barbour, Kitty of the roses
    3 more examples

    "Unberufen ! " cries Sarah, with a shudder that is not all affectation, " do not mention that accursed name ; I could have sworn that I heard her voice just now !"

    1883, Rhoda Broughton, Belinda

    Bending over, Ethel turned back the cloth and thumped on the under side of the table. / "Unberufen and Absit omen," she said hastily. "Don't tempt Providence too far, Captain Frazer. …"

    1905, Anna Chapin Ray, Hamilton Brock Fuller, On the Firing Line, EBook edition, Project Gutenberg, published 2009

    And I am working so well (unberufen!) with my admirable Secretary; I shouldn't really dare to ask her to join our little caravan...

    1920, Percy Lubbock, editor, The Letters of Henry James

Origin

  1. Germanunberufen“let it not be called down on me”
  2. Englishunberufen

From German unberufen (“let it not be called down on me”).

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

unberufen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unberufen

MLA

“unberufen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unberufen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unberufen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unberufen.

Source: unberufen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.