Etymo

uncouth

Rude or lacking social polish.

Played on · Day 45 · word 3 of 5

From unfamiliar to unpolished

How uncouth reached English

oldest first
  • un-‘not’
  • cūth‘familiar, known’

combined

  1. Old English

    uncūth

    ‘unknown, unidentified; strange, unfamiliar’

    became Middle English

  2. Middle English

    uncǒuth

    ‘unknown, unfamiliar; also unseemly, rude’

    became English

  3. English

    uncouth

    ‘awkward and socially unacceptable in appearance, manner, or behavior; rude’

The story of uncouth

Old English uncūth combines un- with cūth, known. The word once described unfamiliar things; rude and unpolished became its usual modern meanings.

The older unfamiliar sense is now archaic. The modern polished meaning of couth is not simply the unchanged Old English meaning.

Source

Merriam-Webster: uncouth

Sense 2a, Word History and Did you know support the old meaning and later back-formation.

Related

Modern couth, meaning polished, was later formed back from uncouth.

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