unknown

English

Etymology

From un- +‎ known, past participle of know. Cf. Old English ungecnawen.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʌnˈnəʊn/
• (US) enPR: ŭn-nōnʹ, IPA^(key): /ʌnˈnoʊn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

unknown (not comparable)

1. Not known; unidentified; not well known.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, The Celebrity:

     The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.

Synonyms

anonymous unfamiliar uncharted undiscovered

unexplored unidentified unnamed unrecognized

unrevealed unascertained obscure unsung

Translations

not known

• Albanian: panjohur
• Arabic: مجهول (majhūl)
• Catalan: desconegut (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 未知 (zh) (wèizhī), 不明 (zh) (bùmíng)

• Czech: neznámý m
• Danish: ubekendt, ukendt
• Dutch: onbekend (nl), ongekend, ongeweten
• Esperanto: nekonata
• Finnish: tuntematon (fi)
• French: inconnu (fr)
• Galician: descoñecido (gl)
• Georgian: უცნობი (uc’nobi)
• German: unbekannt (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἄγνωστος (agnōstos), ἄγνωτος (agnōtos)

• Hungarian: ismeretlen (hu)

• Icelandic: óþekktur (is) m, ókunnur m
• Indonesian: tak diketahui
• Italian: ignoto, sconosciuto (it)
• Japanese: 未知 (ja) (みち, michi), 不明 (ja) (ふめい, fumei), 知らない (しらない, shiranai)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: نه‌ناسراو

• Latin: incognitus, ignoratus, ignotus, nescitus, obscurus (la)
• Latvian: nepazīstams, svešs
• Norwegian: ukjent
• Persian: مجهول (fa) (najhul)
• Polish: nieznany (pl)
• Portuguese: desconhecido (pt) m, desconhecida f
• Romanian: necunoscut (ro), neștiut (ro), obscur (ro)
• Russian: неизвестный (ru) (neizvestnyj) (neizvéstnij)
• Slovene: neznano
• Spanish: ignoto (es), desconocido (es)

Noun

unknown (plural unknowns)

1. (algebra) A variable (usually x, y or z) whose value is to be found.
2. Any fact or place about which nothing is known (as in the phrase "into the unknown").
3. A person of no identity; a nonentity
   • 1965, Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone

     How does it feel

     To be on your own

     With no direction home

     Like a complete unknown

     Like a rolling stone?

Translations

variable

• Finnish: tuntematon (fi)
• French: inconnue (fr) f
• German: Unbekannte (de) f
• Hungarian: ismeretlen (hu)
• Icelandic: óþekkt stærð f

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: непозната f

  Roman: nepoznata f

• Spanish: incógnita f

fact or place

• Finnish: tuntematon (fi)
• French: inconnu (fr) m

• Hungarian: ismeretlen (hu)
• Spanish: desconocido (es) m

person of no identity

• German: Unbekannter (de) m

• Hungarian: idegen (hu)