▪ I. † unˈweeting, vbl. n. Obs.—1
[un-1 12.]
Ignorance.
| 14.. Wycliffite Bible Acts iii. 17 (New Coll. MS. 67), Now, breþeren, I woot þat bi þe vnwetinge [L. per ignorantiam] ȝe diden. |
▪ II. unˈweeting, ppl. a. Now arch.
[un-1 10, 5 d. Cf. MDu. onwetende (Du. onwetend), MLG. unwetende, Sw. ovetande, and unwitting ppl. a.]
1. = unwitting ppl. a. 1.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11253 Ȝyf þou vnwetyng hyt haue, hyt helpeþ þe nat so moche to saue As ȝyf þou asked hyt by name. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. vii. (Skeat) l. 66 Who that..coveyteth thing unknowe, unweting he shal be quyted. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. x. 66 She..in an heaped furrow did thee hyde, Where thee a Ploughman all vnweeting fond. 1634 Milton Comus 539 To inveigle and invite th' unwary sense Of them that pass unweeting by the way. 1667 ― P.L. x. 335 Hee..saw his guileful act By Eve, though all unweeting, seconded Upon her Husband. a 1718 Parnell Fairy Tale 62 'Twas grief..Which made my steps unweeting rove Amid the nightly dew. 1768 C. Shaw Monody vi, In vain—Perverse, still on th' unweeting head 'Tis thine thy vengeful darts to shed. 1803 W. S. Rose Amadis 82 All who to his bow'rs unweeting came. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 42 When Through the unweeting mountains here and there Rove living creatures. 1878 T. Hardy Ret. Native ii. iv, This unweeting manner of performance is the true ring by which..a fossilized survival may be known from a spurious reproduction. |
b. Const. of. = unwitting ppl. a. 1 b.
| 1591 Spenser Teares Muses 491 Then wandreth he in error and in doubt, Vnweeting of the danger hee is in. a 1592 T. Watson Tears of Fancy xlix, His hounds vnweeting of his sodaine change, Did hale and pull him downe. 1717 E. Fenton Homer's Odyssey 91 Me, O King, The Minister of adverse Fate malign'd, Unweeting of Mishap. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 280 Joyous he scents The rich Repast, un⁓weeting of the Death That lurks within. 1793 Coleridge The Rose 13 When unweeting of the guile Awoke the prisoner sweet. 1812 Cary Dante, Purg. iii. 91 They stopp'd:..the same did all Who follow'd, though unweeting of the cause. 1870 Bryant Iliad xviii. II. 225 Two shepherds walked with them,..all unweeting of the evil nigh. |
c. With objective clause. = unwitting ppl. a. 1 c.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 22 He..stood aloofe, vnweeting what to doe. 1621 Quarles Div. Poems, Esther Introd., A few from many they extracted forth,..Vnweeting where the most reward belongs. 1805–6 Cary Dante, Inf. xxx. 139, I..all the while Excused me, though unweeting that I did. 1814 Wordsw. Lines written in copy of Excurs. 9 He conned the new-born Lay..; Unweeting that to him the joy was given. 1864 Bryant Cloud on Way 39 Haply, leaning o'er the pilgrim, all unweeting thou art near, Thou mayst whisper words..of comfort in his ear. |
† 2. In absolute constructions. Obs. = unwitting ppl. a. 2.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. T. 767 (Camb. MS.), He slyly tok it out, this cursede heyne, Vnwetynge this prest of this false craft. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8594 Ector..Went out wightly, vnwetyng his fader. c 1400 Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1908) 74 After that his parens weren gone homwarde, he dwelled stille there in Jerusalem, hem vnwetynge. c 1470 Harding Chron. xviii. vi, He helde Estrylde as his loue and leman, Therof his wife vnwetyng. c 1483 Chron. London (1827) 123 Oweyn..hadde iij or iiijor chyldren be here, unwetyng the comoun peple tyl that sche were ded. |
| ellipt. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xii. (Bodl. MS.), Wormod..exciteþ þe smel after slepe ȝif it is ileide vnwetinge vnder þe heed. |
3. = unwitting ppl. a. 3.
| (a) 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. vii. (Skeat) l. 110 Some of hem token money for thy chambre,..unwetinge of the renter. a 1400 Partonope 8931 In-to a chambre..Vnwetyng of any wight they hym lede. 1454 Paston Lett. I. 287 God wote my wif delyvered all, myn unwetyng. c 1483 Chron. London (1827) 131 The fals contryved evidens that weren sealed be old tyme with the comoun seall, unwetynge of them. |
| (b) 1579 Fenton Guicciard. iii. 168 From whence,..vnweeting to the Duke,..he went to Coma. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 57 She resolu'd, vnweeting to her Sire, Aduent'rous knighthood on her selfe to don. |
† 4. Ignorant, uninformed, unlearned. Obs.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 86/2 She said..he shold abyde wythout and not come in as he that were not worthy but unwetyng. 1706 J. Philips Cerealia 70 Have I so long..my lore Communicated to th' unweeting hind? |
5. = unwitting ppl. a. 4. rare—1.
| 1793 Burns ‘The last time’ ii, The unweeting groan, the bursting sigh, Betray the guilty lover. |