Untouched

How to spell untouched

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce untouched

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does untouched mean?

1. adjectiveNot handled, altered, damaged, or affected by anything.

Untouched in a sentence

• The remote valley remained untouched by tourism for decades.

• Her dinner sat untouched on the plate while she finished the report.

Where does untouched come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on the verb 'touch', which English took from Old French 'touchier' in the 1200s, meaning to come into contact with or to handle. The French verb itself goes back to a Vulgar Latin form 'toccare', thought to imitate the sound of knocking or striking, much like the modern English 'tap'. The negative prefix 'un-', meaning simply 'not', is a thoroughly native English element inherited from Old English, where it freely attached to adjectives and participles. Joining 'un-' to the past participle 'touched' produced the adjective meaning 'not touched' or 'left as it was', a pattern that has been productive in English for centuries. The chief spelling trap is the silent middle: the 'ch' is pronounced as a single sound and the final '-ed' lands as a crisp 't', so writers must remember the 'ch' cluster and the standard '-ed' ending rather than spelling it as it sounds.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• touch (from Old French touchier: to touch)
• -ed (past-participle/adjective suffix)