▪ I. unˈknown, ppl. a.1 and n.
[un-1 8 b. Cf. OE. unᵹecnawen.]
A. adj.
1. Not known; strange, unfamiliar: a. Of places.
| 13.. Cursor M. 1170 (Gött.), I sal be flemed for mi sinne, In vnknaun land to duell ine. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1679 He..carfully is out-kast to contre vnknawen. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 917 As sche were of an unknowen londe. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 71 As if he should undertake to..walke through unknowen places without a guide. 1638 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 90 Some unknown place in the world. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 532 So vast a Space Of Wilds unknown..Allures their Eyes. 1790 Cowper Odyss. xxiv. 344 The fishes of the unknown deep. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 402 The armies..beheld countries previously unknown. 1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gypsy xiv, Where o'er thy unknown grave..white flowering nettles wave. |
b. Of persons.
unknown God: see quot. 1526. unknown soldier or unknown warrior, an unidentified soldier whose tomb symbolizes that of all those killed in battle: see warrior 2 a.
For the phrase unknown, unkissed, see unkissed.
| 13.. Cursor M. 12131 (Gött.), Ani man, vnknauen or cuth. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xiv. 38 Forsothe if ony man vnknowith, he schal be vnknowen [Vulg. ignorabitur]. c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 99, I am vnknowen as in this contree. c 1440 Alph. Tales 175 Ane vnknowen man sittand on a hors. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 53 He schal be vnknowen of God forto be eny of hise. 1526 Tyndale Acts xvii. 23, I founde an aultre wher in was written: vnto the vnknowen god. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 49 It had byn better for hym to haue byn obscure and vnknowen. 1607 E. Topsell Four-footed Beasts 96 The Arabians sacrifice a camell to the vnknowne god. 1622 J. Taylor (Water P.) Sir G. Nonsence To Nobody, The narration of the Vnknowne Knight. 1676 Ray Corr. (1848) 123 An unknown person, who sent me a letter without a name. 1718 Free-thinker No. 4. 25 The Discourse..turned upon the Unknown Fair. 1797 S. & H. Lee Canterb. T. (1799) I. 364 To Lothaire the lord of St. Aubert was personally unknown. 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. x. 164 Mr. Keyes..was a man quite unknown about town. c 1848 M. M. Sherwood Last Days of Boosy (ed. 2) 152 The child..addressed the fearful name..as I had taught him to do to the to him unknown God who made the heavens. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iv, Unknown, doubtful Americans, neither rich nor highly-placed are beyond the pale. 1920 Times 11 Nov. 14/1 The Unknown Warrior..was brought to London by night... He lay..awaiting burial today in the Abbey among the greatest of his race. Ibid. 12 Nov. 13/1 The body of the Unknown Warrior..was buried in Westminster Abbey yesterday, the King being chief mourner. 1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 36 Rupert Brooke, Old Bill, the Unknown Soldier—thus three fond women saw him. 1947 E. M. Forster in Harper's Mag. July 9/2, I add the proviso ‘if all goes well’ because success lies on the knees of an unknown God. 1970 Times 3 June 5/6 Princess Margaret drove today to Mount Avala to lay a wreath of red poppies on the tomb of the unknown soldier. 1980 I. Murdoch Nuns & Soldiers i. 42 The soldiers at the Unknown Warrior's grave in Warsaw. |
c. Of things or facts.
unknown quantity, orig. a term of algebra (see quots. 1676, 1728, and cf. quantity 12); also freq. in figurative use.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2757 [They] caste þer armes of, þe vnknowen, And armede hem eft wyþ here owen. c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 6 Onknowyn was þe quyerne and ek the melle. c 1450 Myrr. our Ladye 158 Then oure lady..was sturred in her harte wyth vnspecable & vnknowen gladnesse. 1509 Fisher Wks. (1876) 297 It is not vnknowen how studyously she procured Iustyce to be admynystred. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 180 A man of vnknowen or low birth. 1622 S. Ward Life of Faith (1627) 51 Death is the knownest and vnknownest thing in the world. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. i. 138 Many times the Ship is carried away by unknown Currents. 1676 Glanvill Ess. iii. 15 The degree of Composition in the unknown Quantity of the æquation. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Equation, The Root of an Equation, is the Value of the unknown Quantity in the Equation. a 1768 Secker Serm. (1770) IV. xviii. 387 Their having a real, though unknown, Subserviency to valuable Ends. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xv. 389 As the whole volume of gas introduced is unknown, and the specific gravity is as yet unknown. 1865 W. Bagehot in Fortn. Rev. 15 May 21 The first election of Mr. Lincoln..was government by an unknown quantity. 1883 [see quantity 12]. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay vi, For some reasons unknown very little was said of the occurrence in the newspapers. 1951 Sport 30 Mar.–5 Apr. 6/3 Mel Ford, the Aberavon prop who gets a ‘cap’ is an unknown quantity in the North. 1973 Times 16 Apr. 14/2 Unless some formula is found for substantial alternative investments for Arab oil money it will continue to be an unknown quantity on the world money market. |
d. Const. to (unto, † till) or † of (= by).
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7694 Na thyng..tylle him unknawen es. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 263 It is not vnknowen to kunnynge leodis. 1486 Paston Lett. III. 328 What pleasur ye maie do to the Kings Grace..is not to you unknowen. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 5 Straunge herbes..vnknowen of the common people. ? 1600 C. Percy in Shaksp. Cent. Of Praise 38 Anything..that may bee unknown unto you. 1670 Pettus Fodinæ Reg. 11 That Mine, which was afterward discovered..in that Countie (as yet unknown to the Societie). 1738 Gay Propertius iii. 65 Happy the youth, and not unknown to Fame. 1823 H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 231 A crystal whose primary form is unknown to us. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt Introd. 16 These things are often unknown to the world. |
e. With of. (Cf. know v. 18 b.)
| 1606 G. Woodcock Lives Emperors in Hist. Ivstine G g 2 When nature did hatch such euils as were vnknowne of to the whole world. 1839 M. Howitt Boy of Southern Isle i. xx, Some unknown-of isle. 1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel ii. 94 It is..one strange, unknown-of, God, whom he shall recognise. |
2. In absolute const.: Without it being known (to one), without the knowledge of (some one).
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 169 Diane his dowhter he begat Unknowen of his wif Juno. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xlv, Bewailling myn infortune.., Vnknawin how or quhat was best to doon. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 207 Scho..was þer þrytte ȝere vnknowon of all men wythout mete oþir drynke. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour I j, Two prestes unknowen of her cam wher as she was alone. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 74 The kyng..was ther unknowen of his ennemyes. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. ii. 48 Thus he vnknowne to me should be in debt. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 84 Being done vnknowne, I should haue found it afterwards well done. 1672 Wiseman Wounds i. viii. 74 The Patient, unknown to me, pursued his intention. 1761 F. Sheridan Sidney Bidulph III. 106 He stole, unknown to anybody, on board a ship. 1820 Keats Isabella xi, All close they met,..Unknown of any, free from whispering tale. 1823 Southey Hist. Penins. War I. 77 An agent..was employed to negociate it unknown to the Spanish embassador. 1898 ‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner iii, The terrible distress..going on unknown to us in our very midst. |
† 3. a. Ignorant (of), unskilled in. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11809 Þis herods..[was] O carles costes al til vnknauin. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 127 Sen ellis thow art vnknawin, To mak me Lord of my awin. 1653 W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 3 We see thereby the folly of such..gain-sayers of what they are altogether unknown in. |
† b. Not recognizing, owning, acknowledging, or confessing. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 18796 Of vn-man-hede es it draun, To be again god dede vn-knaun. Ibid. 28288 Ic ha made vous oft vn-right, And halden þam efter my might, Þe gode vous ic am vn-knaun. c 1375 Ibid. 26666 (Fairf.), Þat is þou art vnknawen of ani man synnis bot þine awen. |
B. n.
1. An unknown person: a. With the.
the Great Unknown (quot. 1825), the author of the Waverley Novels.
| 1597 in Salusbury & Chester Poems (1914) 79 To the Honorable minded vnknowne, the Name-lesse wisheth..perpetuall happines. 1652 Loveday Hymen's Præludia 8 The faire Unknowne found enough in his Noble looks to claime respect. 17.. Watts Hymn, ‘Who dares’ iv, When shall we see the Great Unknown, And in his presence stand? 1774 Trinket 70 The charming unknown turned his eyes on me. 1825 R. Wilson Sk. Hist. Hawick 51 The powerfully superior mind of the Great Unknown. 1834 Dickens Sk. Boz, Boarding-ho. i, The distinguished unknown who condescends to play the ‘swell’ in the pantomime. |
b. With an, this, etc., or pl.
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iv. iv. 43, I am asham'd To looke vpon the holy Sunne,..remaining So long a poore vnknowne. 1686 tr. Agiatis or Civ. Wars Lacedemonians 71 To unite her self to that Unknown, whom she prefers before me. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) IV. 140 I'll never run after the Cant of a Letter from an unknown again. a 1774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) II. 160 He immediately recollected his unknown by her person. 1839 W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 45, I have only to find out this amiable Unknown, to wed her, and be happy! 1902 E. Banks Newspaper Girl 214 Looking at the bodies of the unfortunate unknowns. |
2. a. With the: That which is unknown.
| 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. viii. (1687) 433/2 From which proceedeth Opinion..to the false and unknown. 1759 B. Porteus Death 300 When my Soul starting from the dark unknown Casts back a wishful look. 1816 Chalmers Let. in Life (1851) II. 65 Running into the dark unknown of legal perplexities. 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta xxxv, Losing the indefinite interest of the unknown, it acquired the charm of a riddle. |
b. An unknown state or condition. More widely, an unknown thing; an unknown factor (merging with fig. use of sense 3).
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iv. i, A new omnipotent Unknown of Democracy was coming into being. 1878 E. Dickinson Poems (1955) III. 849 Let my first Knowing be of thee With morning's warming Light—And my first Fearing, lest Unknowns Engulph thee in the night. 1947 H. S. Shelton in Dewar & Shelton Is Evolution Proved? xi. 319 We cannot, therefore, correlate all these unknowns and say what variations result from what changes. 1948 R. Spiller et al. Literary Hist. U.S. 1159 Sensitivity to spiritual unknowns. 1964 M. Gowing Britain & Atomic Energy 1939–1945 i. 36 He acknowledged the unknowns in the situation. |
3. Math. An unknown quantity.
| 1817 H. T. Colebrooke Algebra, etc. 63 The demonstration is by resolution of a quadratic equation involving several unknown. 1890 A. Marshall Princ. Economics p. xi, His equations are neither more nor less in number than his unknowns. |
▪ II. † unknown, ppl. a.2 Obs.—1
[var. of on-, aknown: see acknow v. 4 d.]
In a state of acknowledgement or confession.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26094 Þe toþer pont es scrift o muth To mak to preistes vr costes cuth; Of al vr plight to be vnknaun, Wit will to bete þat we ha schaun. |