entry
unselfish
/ˌʌnˈsɛlfɪʃ/Not excessively concerned with one’s own interests
From English, with the supplied source tracing it to Latin un- (not) + O.English self (one’s own person or identity).
Word Ancestry
Picture a seventeenth-century English writer trying to describe someone who keeps one eye permanently fixed on his own advantage. The adjective selfish appeared in the 1630s, apparently among Presbyterian writers, built from the very plain word self and the adjective-forming suffix -ish. Then, in the 1690s, English simply placed un- in front of it—language’s compact way of saying “no”—and produced unselfish. The result sits beside generous, whose older meaning involved noble birth before it developed the moral sense of giving freely; both words show English turning social status and personal identity into ethical vocabulary. Remember the image: selfishness faces inward like a mirror, while unselfishness turns the mirror around so someone else can see themselves.
The Story
Picture a seventeenth-century English writer trying to describe someone who keeps one eye permanently fixed on his own advantage. The adjective selfish appeared in the 1630s, apparently among Presbyterian writers, built from the very plain word self and the adjective-forming suffix -ish. Then, in the 1690s, English simply placed un- in front of it—language’s compact way of saying “no”—and produced unselfish. The result sits beside generous, whose older meaning involved noble birth before it developed the moral sense of giving freely; both words show English turning social status and personal identity into ethical vocabulary. Remember the image: selfishness faces inward like a mirror, while unselfishness turns the mirror around so someone else can see themselves.
Kin & Kindred
From 'un-'·not; opposite of
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'self'·one’s own person or identity
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ish'·having the nature or quality of
Derived Terms
English words from this root