Unfamiliar

How to spell unfamiliar

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce unfamiliar

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unfamiliar mean?

1. adjectiveNot known or recognised; outside one's previous experience.

Unfamiliar in a sentence

• The new software felt completely unfamiliar during her first week.

• Driving through unfamiliar streets at night made him anxious.

Where does unfamiliar come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the prefix un-, meaning 'not', attached to 'familiar', which English took from the Old French familier in the 1300s. That French form descended from the Latin familiaris, meaning 'belonging to the household' or 'on intimate terms', a word grown from familia, the Latin term for a household and all its members, including its servants. The original idea was of something close, domestic, and well known, so 'familiar' came to mean recognisable or comfortably known. Adding un- in the late 1500s simply flipped that to its opposite: something strange, unknown, or outside one's experience. The spelling keeps the single 'l' and the '-iar' ending of 'familiar', which is exactly where writers tend to slip, sometimes doubling the 'l' or writing '-ier'.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• famili (from Latin familia: household, family)
• -ar (adjective suffix)