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uneven

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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an extraordinarily uneven road surface

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *né
Proto-Indo-European *n̥-
Proto-Germanic *un-
Proto-West Germanic *un-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁em-?
Proto-Indo-European *-nos
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ém-no-der.
Proto-Germanic *ebnaz
Proto-West Germanic *ebn
Proto-West Germanic *unebn
Old English unefen
Middle English uneven
English uneven

    From Middle English uneven, from Old English unefen (“unequal, unlike, dissimilar, diverse, irregular”), equivalent to un- +‎ even. Cognate with Dutch oneven (“unequal, uneven, odd”), German uneben (“uneven, rough, irregular, bumpy”).

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    uneven (comparative more uneven, superlative most uneven)

    1. Of a surface, not even; covered with raised spots, pits and grooves.
      Synonym: jagged
    2. Not level or smooth.
    3. Not uniform.
      • 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 79:
        I've spent hours on overcrowded trains, and time on ones which were almost empty, because the recovery [from COVID] has been uneven.
    4. Varying in quality.
      • 2006 October 5, Leslie Feinberg, “Early left-wing liberation: 'Unity with all the oppressed'”, in Workers World‎[1]:
        Even white activists who lacked a thoroughgoing anti-racist consciousness or were uneven in their understanding saw unity in the struggle against all forms of oppression as key.
    5. (mathematics, rare) Odd.
      Antonym: even

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    See also

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    Verb

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    uneven (third-person singular simple present unevens, present participle unevening, simple past and past participle unevened)

    1. (transitive) To make uneven.
      • 1993, Travel Holiday, volume 176, page 56:
        Initially it nestled among the dozens of Indian mounds that unevened the earth near the river until they were leveled to accommodate commerce.
      • 2006, Jack Temple Kirby, Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South, page 128:
        First, of course, the war reduced the white male, mostly young adult, population by more than a quarter-million, unevening the sex ratio and connubial and other opportunities for women for perhaps a generation.

    Middle English

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    Etymology 1

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      From Old English unefen, from Proto-West Germanic *unebn; by surface analysis, un- +‎ even (“even”).

      Alternative forms

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      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /unˈɛ̞ːvən/, /unˈɛvən/

      Adjective

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      uneven (plural and weak singular unevene)

      1. Rough, uneven; not even or smooth.
        Antonym: even
        1. Crooked, unaligned; not straight or balanced.
        2. (rare) Not uniform, varying, disparate.
      2. Unequal; not the same or identical:
        Antonym: even
        1. Unevenly distributed or given out.
        2. Unjust, biased; not fair or impartial.
          Antonym: even
      3. Odd (not divisible by two)
        Coordinate term: even
        Synonym: odde
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      Descendants
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      • English: uneven
      • Middle Scots: unevin
      References
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      Etymology 2

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      Verb

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      uneven

      1. alternative form of unevenen
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