Wordwyrt

unkempt

/ənˈkempt/uhn-KEMPT
/ənˈkɛmpt/uhn-KEMPT

Meaningto comb

Common meaning: untidy in appearance

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishcemban‘to comb’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftsto comb → combedkembed‘combed’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftscombed → untidy in appearanceunkempt‘untidy in appearance’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English cemban ‘to comb’.

Roots

  • cemban Old English “to comb”

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