unbutton

English

Etymology

From Middle English onbottonen, unbotonen; equivalent to un- +‎ button.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈbʌtən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌtən

Verb

unbutton (third-person singular simple present unbuttons, present participle unbuttoning, simple past and past participle unbuttoned)

1. (ambitransitive) To open (something) by undoing its buttons.
   • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:

     Being now too high wound up to bear a delay, he unbutton'd, and drawing out the engine of love-assaults, drove it currently, as at a ready-made breach

   • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:

     "Mr Baxter, I think?" said the latter. He had laid aside his dripping umbrella and was unbuttoning overcoat and coat to reach an inner pocket.

2. (intransitive, ergative) To come open by having its buttons unfastened.
   • 2010, Janet Chapman, Tempt Me If You Can, page 70:

     He was so muscled and firm, and the canvas shirt under his jacket unbuttoned easily.

Derived terms

• unbuttonable

Related terms

• unbuttoned

Translations

(transitive)

• Bulgarian: откопчавам (bg) f (otkopčavam)
• Catalan: desbotonar (ca)
• Finnish: avata napit
• French: déboutonner (fr)
• Galician: desabotoar (gl)
• German: aufknöpfen (de)
• Greek: ξεκουμπώνω (el) (xekoumpóno)
• Ido: desbutonagar (io)
• Italian: sbottonare (it)
• Portuguese: desabotoar (pt)
• Romanian: descheia (ro)
• Russian: расстёгивать (ru) impf (rasstjógivatʹ), расстегну́ть (ru) pf (rasstegnútʹ)
• Spanish: desabotonar (es)
• Swedish: knäppa upp
• Turkish: çözmek (tr)