uncouth, a. and n.
(ʌnˈkuːθ)
Forms: α. 1 uncuþ, 1–3 uncuð (3 vn-), 2 unkuþ, 3 -kuð, 4 un-, vncuth (-cut), 5 vnchut; 3 vnecouþ, 3–4 onecouþ, 4 vnkouþ; 4–7 vn-, 4– uncouth (5–6 Sc. wn-, 6 on-), 4–6 vnkouth (5 -koud, 6 Sc. wn-, onkouth), 6 Sc. oncoutht, 6–8 uncooth, 7 uncough; 4 oncouþe, 4–5 vn-, unkouþe, 4–6 vn-, uncouthe (4 -kouthe, 5 Sc. wncou(y)the, 6 vncovthe); 3–5 vncowþe, -the (5 -k(u)owthe), 4 vnkowth (6 on-), 5 oncowth, 6 oncowght. β. 2 uncoð-, 3 vncoþ-, vnekoþ-, 4 vnchoþe, 5 -koth, 5–6 -cothe, 6–7 vn-, uncoth. (See also unquod, -quoth, and unco.)
[OE. unc{uacu}þ (f. un- un-1 + c{uacu}þ couth a.), = MDu. oncont (Du. onkond), OHG. unkund, -chunt (MHG. unkunt), ON. {uacu}kunnr (obs. Da. ukund), Goth. unkunþs. In many examples from the 17th and 18th centuries the exact sense is difficult to determine.]
A. adj.
† 1. Of facts or matters of knowledge: Unknown; also, not certainly known, uncertain. Obs.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. Pref. ad fin., Uncuð [hit is] hu longe ðær swæ ᵹelærede biscepas sien. c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. ii. xiii. (1890) 134 To wiðmetenesse þære tide, þe us uncuð is. 971 Blickl. Hom. 51 Us is swiþe uncuþ hwæt ure yrfeweardas..don willon æfter urum life. c 1000 ælfric On Old Test. (Gr.) 4 God..sealde heora ælcum synderlice spræce, þæt heora ælcum wæs uncuð, hwæt oðer sæde. a 1200 Vices & Virtues 23 Ic bliðeliche ðine rad wile hlesten,..ȝif ðu me ðin uncuðe name woldest kyðen. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4296 Ful fewe bedys are yn hys mouþe, He vsyþ none; þey are vncouthe. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. lxiii, Quhen all ȝour merci rew vpon ȝour man, Quhois seruice is ȝit vncouth vnto ȝow? 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys Introd. (Roxb.) 4 Wych story is no thyng unkuowthe At mownt Flask. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. viii. (S.T.S.) I. 48 This ordour of preisthede was..nocht vncouth to þe pepill of albane. a 1577 Gascoigne Dan Barth. Wks. (1587) 101 With stopping sobs..he sought To utter that which was to one uncouth. 1616 Boys Wks. (1622) 871 Now the whole superficies of the earth as well vncouth as discouered, is but a little point. 1650 R. Gell Serm. 8 Aug. 2 A kind of attestation not uncouth among the Poets. |
2. With which one is not acquainted or familiar; unfamiliar, unaccustomed, strange:
a. Of ways, paths, etc. (frequently passing into sense 5).
| α Beowulf 1410 Ofereode þa æþelinga bearn..enge anpaðas, uncuð ᵹelad. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xiii. 58 Merecondel scyfð on ofdæle, uncuðne weᵹ nihtes ᵹeneðeð. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. xi. (Skeat) l. 45 Folisshe ignoraunce mis⁓ledeth wandring wrecches by uncouth wayes that shulden be forleten. c 1450 Merlin xx. 314 Ride euer be nyght and by the moste vn-cowth weyes that ye may. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 67, I wandred through streets and passages vncooth. 1611 Florio, Inuio sentiere, an vngone, vntroden or vncouth path or way. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 475 But I Toild out my uncouth passage, forc't to ride Th' untractable Abysse. 1691 Swift Athenian Soc. Wks. 1755 IV. i. 231 To grope her uncouth way After a mighty light that leads her wand'ring eye. 1704 ― T. Tub xi, They would make choice of the..most uncouth rounds..that they might be sure to avoid one another. |
| β 1579 Fenton Guicciard. xiv. 829 Frauncis Sforce taking a straunge and vncothe waye, was receyued at Sesto by Prospero. 1588 Greene Alcida Wks. (Grosart) IX. 55 Wandring awhile by many vncoth paths, at last wee came into a faire place. 1600 J. Lane Tom Tel-troth 69 Nature..Is now inforc'd in vncoth walkes to stray. |
b. Of lands or places.
| α c 960 Rule St. Benet lxi. 109 Se utancumena munuc, þe of uncuðum eardum cymð. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 157 Wume nu..þet ic scal wunien in unkuþe londe. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 53 Hu muȝe we singen godes loft song in uncuðe londe? c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 325 Þus feor in one-couþe londe Mit deol and soruwe ich habbe i-leoued. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 1192 Time it is þat ich fond To winne priis in vncouþe lond. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12510 The sea..Depertid the pepull, pyne to be-hold, In costes vnkowthe. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 851 She it yaff to the scottisshe knight, For he was of an vnkouth stede. a 1470 Harding Chron. ccxli. vii, Who hath power to make you resistence In any wise, in any vncouth lande? 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1237/2 Whan they shall..cary vs farre from home into a straunge vncouth lande. 1632 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. xxvi. 97 The silly stranger in an uncouth country must take with a smoky inn. 1671 Milton Samson 333 Brethren and men of Dan, for such ye seem, Though in this uncouth place. 1722 De Foe Plague (1840) 97 [They] wandered into fields and woods, and into secret uncouth places. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. xi, Ye see, birkie, it is nae chancy thing to tak a stranger traveller for a guide, when you are in an uncouth land. |
| β 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6445 Þat he hom to deþe broȝte So ver in vnekoþe lond, þat no mon of hom ne roȝte. c 1400 Destr. Troy 531 A sure knyghte..ayres into vnkoth lond auntres to seche. |
c. Of persons.
For the early legal use see
hoghenhine. For the phrase
uncouth,
unkissed, see
unkissed.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. vi. xxxi. 286 Þa com him onᵹean an uncuð mon, & ofstong Iulianus. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John x. 5 Ne fyliað hiᵹ uncuþum,..forþam þe hiᵹ ne ᵹecneowon uncuþra stefne. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives xxiii. 613 Þæt þær ᵹelæht wære binnan þære byriᵹ an uncuð ᵹeong man. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 231 Scewie we þes uncoðe mæn ur ȝefo. c 1205 Lay. 7107 Seoððen her com vncuð folc faren in þessere þeode. a 1225 Ancr. R. 54 A meiden..eode vt uor to biholden uncuðe wummen. a 1300 Cursor M. 5495 Þar ras an vncut king þat had to ioseph na knauing. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 141 Vnkouþe knihtes schul come þi kingdam to clayme. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 501 Unkowth men wele may he shende, That to his felows es so unhende. 1446 Lydg. Nightingale Poems ii. 44 From the god of love To me was sent an vnkouth messangier. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iii. vi. 105 Vncouth men ye shold debate with al & no broder with broder. 1596 Warner Alb. Eng. xi. lxii. (1612) 272 They, seeing vncouth Men and Ships, weare wondringly agaste. |
d. Of peoples or nations.
| c 1000 ælfric Deut. xxviii. 36 Drihten sent uncuðe þeode ofer eow, þa þe ᵹe ne cunnon. a 1300 Cursor M. 1171 In vncuth lede sal end mi wa. Ibid. 4177 Þan sagh þai cumand be þe stret Marchands of an vncuth thede. c 1400 St. Alexius (Trin.) 258 Tydynges none hy ne broȝte Of his sone, þat him soȝte In vncouþe þede. c 1450 Lydg. Secrees 219 In Rethoryk he hadde experyence Of euery strange, unkouth nacyoun. |
† e. Sc. Pertaining to other nations; foreign.
Obs.| 1533 Bellenden Livy ii. xv. (S.T.S.) I. 187 How beit þe ciete was in quiet þis ȝere but ony vncouth or domestic weris. Ibid. v. xxiv. II. 232 Nocht standing oure neir þe sey to resaif dammaige be perell of oncouth flotis. |
3. Of an unknown or unfamiliar character; unusual, uncommon, strange; marvellous. Now
rare.
Very common
c 1590–1700. In later use passing into 6.
| Beowulf 876 Secg..welhwylc ᵹecwæð, þæt he fram Siᵹemunde secgan hyrde ellendædum uncuþes fela. c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. ii. xii. (1890) 128 Þa ᵹeseah he..sumne mon wið his gongan..uncuðes ᵹeᵹyrlan. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 194 Ᵹif men þæt heafod berste, oððe uncuð swyle onᵹesitte. a 1122 O.E. Chron. an. 1106, Hiᵹ ma on þison timon uncuðra steorra ᵹesawon. c 1200 Ormin 228 Þeȝȝ wisstenn þatt himm wass þatt daȝȝ Summ unncuþ sihhþe shæwedd. a 1300 Cursor M. 22494 Efter þe tua fules þe þrid, An uncuth dai þan es it kidd. 1340–70 Alisaunder 683 Queme yee me might, Of this unkouth case too karp þe soothe. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 1279 Ther saugh I Colle tregetour Vpon a table of Sygamour Pley an vncouthe thynge to telle. c 1386 ― Sqr.'s T. 284 Who couþe telle you þe forme of daunces So vncouthe. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 25 The tragides divers and unkouth Of morall Senec. 1430–40 ― Bochas ix. xxxiii. 34 b, His vncouth story breuely to compyle. 1448–9 J. Metham Amoryus & Cl. 1278 The venym owte off hys tayle in-to hys mowth He drawyth anone..; Thow yt gretly be meruulus and oncowth. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. v. lxxxiii. 61 The Kynge had maryed a woman of vncowght beleue. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xxi. 101 Moued with this uncouthe syght. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 80, I through pangs vncoth vnhabled,..thus fumbled an aunswer. 1603 B. Jonson Sejanus iii. iii, It is no uncouth thing To see fresh buildings from old ruines spring. 1648 Hunting of Fox 24 Saint Bridgit her selfe, the mother of so many uncouth Revelations. 1693 N. Mather in Owen Holy Spirit Pref., Novel and uncouth Terms foreign to the Things of God. 1710 Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. i. §1 We are insensibly drawn into uncouth paradoxes. 1748 Hartley Observ. Man i. iii. 350 The Speculations may seem uncouth to those who are not conversant in Mathematical Inquiries. 1801 tr. Gabrielli's Myst. Husb. III. 173 When James's uncouth story was absolutely confirmed. 1847 G. Harris Ld. Hardwicke II. viii. 237 To gaze on the uncouth, unaccustomed spectacle presented by the Highlanders. 1864 Bowen Logic v. 136 It would certainly be accounted a forced and uncouth assertion. |
† b. Alien or foreign
to something.
Obs. rare.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. ii. (1868) 34 Syn þat stedfastnesse is vnkouþ to my maneres. 1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 273 Any other and higher Points, especially such as are Uncouth to..Natural Reason. |
† c. Unrecognizable.
Obs.—1| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 318 So what with blod and what with teres..He made hire faire face uncouth. |
† 4. Of a strange and unpleasant or distasteful character.
Obs.| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 242 Þis unkouþe discencioun þat is bitwixe þes popes. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas ii. xxviii. (1554) 64 Atwene them, there was an uncouth strife. 1586 Day Eng. Secretorie i. (1625) 46 The sight became so vncouth, as all men shamed, each one feared, and none durst abide it. 1641 Brome Joviall Crew i. (1652) B iv, I hop'd thou hadst abjur'd that uncough practice. 1696 Whiston The. Earth (1722) 7 An uncouth and incredible system. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 382 The Sight, you may be sure, was something uncouth to our Spaniards. 1785 Burke Nabob Arcot Wks. IV. 320 To some the subject is strange and uncouth; to several harsh and distasteful. 1797 Godwin Enquirer i. vi. 43 They will not accept an uncouth and disgustful lesson. |
† b. Of smells, sounds, etc.
Obs.| 1600 Holland Livy xxi. lv. 425 The Elephants..frighted the horses especially, & not onely with the straunge sight, but also with as uncouth a sent and savor. 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 909 Poysoned Honey..hath a strange and uncouth smell. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 29 Toddy..tasts like Rhenish; at first draught it is uncouth, but every draught tasts better than other. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xv. (1840) 257 A strange noise more uncouth than any they had ever heard. |
† c. Unseemly, indecorous.
Obs.| 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 40 Samela meruailed at such an vncouth banquet. 1600 Fairfax Tasso i. xviii. 4 Nor sweld his brest with vncouth pride therefore, That heau'n on him aboue this charge had laide. 1659 Brome Eng. Moor i. iii, Which uncouth Policie to sorrow leads Thousands a thousand wayes. |
5. Of places: Not commonly known or frequented; solitary, desolate, wild, rugged, rough.
| α a 1542 Wyatt in Anglia (1897) XX. 432 So close the Cave was and unkouth Y{supt} none but God was record off his payne. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vi. 6 If this vncouth Forrest yeeld any thing sauage, I wil either be food for it, or bring it for foode to thee. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. xviii. (1821) 191 Lurking in desart, uncouth, and unknowen places. 1653 H. Cogan Diod. Sic. 256 Wandring alone through desert and uncouth places, he died with sorrow. 1728 Morgan Algiers I. iii. 72, I have met with the Ruins of several stately Buildings..in uncooth Mountains. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. vii. 73 This uncouth and rugged coast. 1814 Scott Wav. lxiii, He soon pursued a very uncouth path. 1830 J. G. Strutt Sylva Brit. 119 The Prior of St. Mary's at York was chosen Abbot by the Monks; with whom they withdrew into this uncouth desert. |
| β 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 99 When they toe thee mountayns and too layrs vncoth aproched. 1595 Locrine iii. vi. 7 Where may I finde some hollow vncoth rocke, Where I may..ban my fill? |
b. Of life, surroundings, etc.: Unattractive, unpleasant, uncomfortable.
Obs. or
arch.| 1611 Coryat Crudities 409 Duke Iohn..liued a most vncouth and solitary life in the desert forrests. a 1627 Middleton Witch ii. i, 'Tis so uncouth Living i' th' country, now I'm us'd to th' city. 1670 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xii. §130 [He] order'd his other small Troops to contain themselves in those uncouth Quarters, in which they were. 1685 in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 404 This place is very uncouth to me now you are gone out of it! 1888 Stevenson Black Arrow iii. iv, The pair were left to their uncouth reflections for the night. |
† c. Strange; uneasy; at a loss.
Obs.—1| 1660 Pepys Diary 26 May, All the great company being gone, I found myself very uncouth all this day for want thereof. |
6. Of an unfamiliar or strange appearance or form;
spec., having an odd, uncomely, awkward, or clumsy shape or bearing.
| 1513 Douglas æneid xi. xv. 12 In brovne sangwane weill dycht Abuf hys onkouth armour blomand brycht. 1600 Fairfax Tasso ii. 38 In vncouth armes yclad and strange disguise. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage 685 An vncouth Idoll, great and hollow, fastened in the wall with lime. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. ii. ii. §14 The Frost and Wind will draw upon Doors and glass-Windows pretty uncouth streaks like feathers and other fooleries. 1713 Pope Windsor For. 403 Then ships of uncouth form shall stem the tide. 1770 Cook Voy. round World ii. ix. (1773) III. 453 The dress of a New Zealander is certainly..the most uncouth that can be imagined. 1838 Lytton Leila i. v, A profusion of strange and uncouth instruments and machines. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 53 The ponies of Gallicia, although ugly and uncouth, are admirably suited to the wild hilly country. 1879 H. Phillips Notes Coins 12 A heavy and uncouth gold British coin of remote antiquity. |
b. Of persons: Awkward and uncultured in appearance or manners. Also
transf.| 1732 Sir C. Wogan Let. to Swift 27 Feb., The very name of Irish carries so uncouth an idea along with it. 1740 Somerville Hobbinolia i. 165 The jocund Troop..incessant shake Their uncouth brawny Limbs. 1798 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 64, I have never seen this redoubtable, troublesome, uncouth cousin of mine. 1825 Macaulay Ess., Milton (1851) I. 24 People saw nothing of the godly but their uncouth visages. 1828 Lytton Pelham iii, A raw, uncouth sort of young man, with a green coat and lank hair. 1868 Farrar Seekers i. vi. (1875) 75 He dragged out an uncouth panic-stricken mortal. |
| Comb. 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 57 Several uncouth-looking beings seated on rocks. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 292 The shepherds were an uncouth-looking set. |
c. Of language, style, etc.
| 1694 Penn Rise & Progr. Quakers v, Though that side of his understanding which lay next to the world, and especially the expression of it, might sound uncouth and unfashionable to nice ears. 1699 Garth Dispens. iv. 50 Harsh words, tho' pertinent, uncooth appear. 1717 Lady Montagu Let. to Pope 1 Apr., An expression in an ancient author..may be extremely fine with them, when at the same time it looks low or uncouth to us. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. i. 82 Tho' terms uncouth shou'd strike th' offended ear, For sake of truth the uncouth measures bear. 1773 Mrs. Chapone Improv. Mind (1774) II. 128 Buried in obsolete words and uncouth constructions. a 1834 Coleridge Shaks. Notes (1875) 145 The scholastic and uncouth words homogeneity, proportionateness. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. 162 Where it does not make Shakespeare write bad sense, uncouth metre, or false grammar. |
| absol. 1737 Pope Hor., Ep. ii. ii. 174 Prune the luxuriant, the uncouth refine, But show no mercy to an empty line. |
d. Of manners, actions, etc.
| 1740 Johnson Life Drake Wks. IV. 426 Nor were their other customs less wild or uncouth. 1763 J. Brown Poetry & Music iii. 27 Their Gestures are uncouth and horrid. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 274 It was a day of uncouth gambols, and frolics, and rude feasting. 1860 Adler Prov. Poet. ii. 29 The uncouth heroism of the barbarous times. 1868 Nettleship Ess. Browning ii. 62 This uncouth mind, so cramped..by the exigencies..of rhythm and rhyme. |
† 7. Unknowing, ignorant. Also
absol. Obs. rare.
| c 1220 Bestiary 112 in O.E. Misc. 4 His muð is ȝet wel unkuð wið pater noster and crede. Ibid. 512 Ðer-fore oðre fisses to him draȝen;..of his swike he arn uncuð. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 25 For he taght the vn-couthe and vn⁓kunnynge by his prechynge. 1624 in Abbotsford Club Misc. 4 margin, The pannell denyet not, but scho said scho was vncouth, and wist not quhat to say. |
B. 1. absol. An unknown person; a stranger.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 348 Ich halsie ou..alse unkuðe & pilegrimes, þet ȝe wiðholden ou from vlesliche lustes. a 1300 Cursor M. 6835 To pilgrime and to vncuth Þou ber þe wit þi dedis cuth. 1340 Ayenb. 37 Þe priue þyeues byeþ þo þet ne steleþ naȝt of oncouþe ac of priues. 14.. Sir Beues (C.) 2134 ‘What þow?’ sche seyde, ‘þou onkowth?’ |
2. n. pl. Things not commonly known; news.
| a 1529 Skelton Col. Clout 1054 The people..wyl talke of such vncouthes. 1684 G. Meriton Yorks. Dial. 42 What uncuths hes ta brought Come tell me seaun? c 1746 J. Collier (Tim Bobbin) View Lanc. Dial. Wks. (1775) 33 I'd ash him..whot Uncoth's he heard sturrink. 1828 Craven Gloss. |
† 3. spec. (See
quot.)
Obs.—1| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 262 Ye haue another vicious speech which the Greekes call Acyron, we call him the vncouthe, and is when we vse an obscure and darke word. |