unknowingn.1
/(ˌ)ʌnˈnəʊɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənˈnoʊɪŋ/ 1. The action, fact, or state of not knowing; lack of knowledge, awareness, or understanding; ignorance; uncertainty. Occasionally (and in earliest use) as a count noun: an instance or example of ignorance; an error, a fault.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [noun]
unwisdomc825
nutelnessa1200
ignorance?c1225
uncunningc1290
uncunnessa1300
unwittingnessa1300
unknowledging1357
lewdness1362
unsciencec1374
mislearninga1382
simplenessa1382
unknowinga1382
ignorancec1384
unwittingc1384
simplessec1391
rudenessc1400
unweeting14..
lewdhead1401
misknowing?a1425
simplicityc1450
unknowledge1470
discognisancec1475
unknowingness1486
non-knowledge1503
ignorancy1526
simplehead1543
unlearnedness1555
ignoration1563
rusticity1571
ignorantness1574
ignoring1578
inscience1578
ignoramus1583
ingramness1589
lack-learning1590
idiotism1598
ignoramus1598
idiocy1605
nesciencea1625
nescio1637
inerudition1685
unawareness1847
agnosia1879
moronism1922
cluelessness1960
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xxiii. 2 Lord fadir..who putteþ..in myn herte doctrine of wisdam, þat to þe vnknowingis [a1382 Douce 369(1) vnknowyngus; L. ignorationibus] of þem he spare not to me.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 194 In myrknes of unknawyng þai gang.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 89 The vnhauyng and the vnknowing of this..consideracioun.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 142 We dwell in the vnknowyng [Fr. descongnoissance] of fortune that is to come.
1536 R. Taverner tr. P. Melanchthon Apol. sig. Aviiv, in Confessyon Fayth Germaynes Whan we be borne we bring with vs an vnknowynge of god, a mystruste, a diffidence, a contempte, a hatyng of god.
1653 G. Baiteman Arrow of Almighty sig. A3v That which I judge and condemn amongst you all is..the great unknowing of God (in the people) as he ought to be known.
1879 Methodist Q. Rev. Jan. 160 We apprehend this unknowing is the fault not of science but of the scientist.
1986 Hudson Rev. 39 91 Uncounted in the sum of our unknowings.
2015 Jrnl. Mod. Lit. 38 ii. 126 Beckett's late poetics of vagueness..subtly but significantly refines the relationship to unknowing and uncertainty one finds in Keats.
2. Theology. The action or process of setting aside reason or learning in order to be open to God; the state of having done this. Cf. sense 3. Chiefly in contexts influenced by or relating to the writings of Dionysius the Areopagite (Pseudo-Dionysius).
ΚΠ
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 125 (MED) Þe moste goodly knowyng of God is þat, þe whiche is knowyn bi vnknowyng.
a1425 (?a1400) Deonise hid Diuinite (Harl.) (1955) 7 (MED) In oure deniinges we begynnyn at þe leest, & stien up to þe moste..& done hem awey, þat we mowen cleerliche knowe þat vnknowyng, þe whiche is wallid aboute from al knowable miȝtes in alle þees being þinges.
1671 E. Stillingfleet Disc. Idolatry iv. 327 The perfection of this state lying in an intime Vnion with God (as they speak) whereby the soul is Deified, is to be attained only in the way of unknowing, (for nothing so dangerous as the use of reason) and self-annihilation.
1926 Studies: Irish Q. Rev. 15 289 That fundamental characteristic of mystical experience which St. Dionysius the Areopagite calls the ἀγνωσία, the ‘unknowing’.
1957 F. L. Cross Oxf. Dict. Christian Church 402/2 This [progressive deification of man] is to be obtained by a process of ‘unknowing’, in which the soul leaves behind the perceptions of the senses as well as the reasoning of the intellect.
2008 J. Riches Galatians through Cent. 138 God is approached partly by enlightenment..partly by passing beyond such knowledge to know God through unknowing.
3. cloud of unknowing n. figurative (originally Theology) a metaphorical cloud representing the impossibility of comprehending God by means of reason; a barrier to human comprehension of the divine which cannot be overcome by learning or intellect (cf. sense 2); (in later use, also more generally) a situation in which no understanding or certainty is possible; a state of ignorance, uncertainty, or confusion.
ΚΠ
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 1 (MED) Here bygynniþ a book of contemplacyon, þe whiche is clepyd Þe Clowde of Vnknowyng.
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 17 (MED) Lift up þin herte vnto God..him-self, & none of his goodes, &..it were a cloude of vnknowyng..bitwix þee & þi God, & letteþ þee þat þou maist not see him cleerly by liȝt of vnderstonding in þi reson, ne fele him in swetnes of loue in þin affeccion.
1675 E. Stillingfleet Answer Mr. Cressy's Epist. ii. 105 The truly Mystical Cloud of unknowing, in which he puts a stop to all knowing perceptions.
1891 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. Apr. 262 The cloud of unknowing which hangs over our earth is only an exhaltation from the surface of ignorance within the narrow bounds of our horizon.
1939 T. S. Eliot Family Reunion ii. ii. 110 Accident is design And design is accident In a cloud of unknowing.
1976 H. Montefiore in Christian Believing 154 Even in granting as much as this to doctrine and dogma, I have to enter into the cloud of unknowing and assert the Church's apophatic tradition.
1990 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 53 60 The mystic's vision is perceived as a shaft of spiritual light from God that pierces the cloud of unknowing between Him and the contemplative.
2016 Guardian (Nexis) 22 Nov. The black cloud of unknowing that covers Brexit negotiations.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
unknowingadj.n.2
/(ˌ)ʌnˈnəʊɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənˈnoʊɪŋ/ A. adj.† 2. In parenthetic adverbial phrases. Of a specified person or group: not knowing (something); in ignorance of (something). Obsolete. [After Latin ablative absolute constructions (compare quot. a1382).]
1.
a. Not knowing; not possessing knowledge or understanding; ignorant; ill-informed; naive.
(a) attributive or in predicative use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [adjective]
unlearedeOE
untowenc1000
unwittyc1000
skillessc1175
uncouthc1220
lewda1225
lorelessa1300
simplea1325
layc1330
uncunning1340
untaughtc1340
unknowingc1350
rudea1382
roida1400
unquainta1400
ignorant?c1400
unlearnedc1400
misknowing?a1425
simple-hearted?c1425
unknownc1475
unkenningc1480
unweeting1483
nescienta1500
craftlessc1530
misliterate1532
sillya1547
ingram1553
gross1561
inscient1578
borowe1579
plain-headeda1586
empirical1588
rudeful1589
lack-learning1590
learnless?1593
wotless?1594
ingrant1597
untutored1597
small-knowing1598
uninstructed1598
unlearnt1609
unread1609
unware?1611
nescious1623
inscious1633
inscientifical1660
uninformed1702
unaware1704
unable1721
unsuspecting1776
inerudite1801
ill-informed1824
incognoscent1827
unminded1831
unknowledgeable1837
knowledgelessc1843
parviscient1862
clueless1943
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 120 Al one-knowynge þaȝ hy were, Hy makede ioye.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xv. 29 As wel to þe wiþ ynne born as to þe comelynges, oo lawe shal be of alle þat synnyn vnknowynge.
R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 48 Bot þies ar vnknawand, for vertew of contemplatife þai knaw not.
1552 R. King Funerall Serm. sig. E.ijv This riche man, thus honorably buried, and so semeth vnto vnknowyng people of the worlde, to be in no worse state in another world, then he was in this world.
1649 Bp. J. Hall Resol. & Decisions i. vi. 60 The matter may be intricated by passing through many perhaps unknowing hands.
1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. xvii. 96 My..child..is unexperienced in the world, quite unknowing and unknown.
1845 H. B. Hirst Coming of Mammoth 89 Winds that pilfer from unknowing flowers Their balmy breaths.
1915 A. Pollitzer Let. Oct. in G. O'Keeffe & A. Pollitzer Compl. Corr. (1990) 35 Have you ever met such a bunch of sweet self sufficient—Unknowing—fools in your life as you're meeting now.
2007 Daily Tel. 26 Sept. 10/8 The unknowing carriers pose a great risk of infecting others through donating blood.
(b) Used parenthetically or with adverbial force. Cf. unknowingly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [adverb] > in ignorance, unknowingly
unknowingly1340
unknowinga1382
unwarec1386
unwittinglya1425
unbewares1483
unknownly1495
unawares1535
unaware1593
at unawares1596
unsuspectingly1798
unsuspectedly1826
uncognizantly1843
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Lev. v. 18 Þe life þat synneþ by ignoraunce..he shal offre a weþer wiþ oute weem..for vnknowynge [a1425 L.V. vnwytynge] he dede, & hit shal be forȝeue hym.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xvii. 23 Therfore which thing ȝe vnknowynge [L. ignorantes] worschipen, this thing I schewe to ȝou.
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) x. lxxix. sig. I.iiijv There syr Tristram vnknowyng smote doune kyng Arthur.
1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius (1726) 101 See..what mischiefs ye might do unknowing.
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epode iii, in tr. Horace Odes II. 279 Have I swallow'd the Gore of a Viper unknowing?
1837 Torch 2 Sept. 9/2 Her tears, mix'd with the milk, I drank, unknowing, at my birth.
1852 C. Kingsley Andromeda 250 From afar, unknowing, I marked thee.
1934 Z. N. Hurston Jonah's Gourd Vine xxvi. 312 Their hearts turned to fire and their shinbones leaped unknowing to the drum.
2010 K. Moore To Tempt Saint xv. 195 Isaiah passed unknowing through the gate.
b. Lacking knowledge or understanding of something; ignorant of.In quot. a1398 with †to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [adjective] > ignorant of something
unwittingc893
unwarec1374
unknowinga1398
ignorantc1425
unawares1549
unfraught1587
unintelligenta1616
unstudied1642
a stranger to1665
unconscious1678
unconscious1700
unskilled1725
oblivious1854
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. liii. 755 [Egypt] is a cuntre vnvsynge to dewe and vnknowynge to reyne [L. pluuiarum ignara].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 28313 O godds godes..haue i ben vnknauand.
a1425 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 215 Alle that lyueth..Shal deye vnknowyng of her day.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 159 That is gret pite..to be vncunnynge and vnknowynge of hym selff.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 16 The residue wer vnknowyng of this thyng.
1642 J. Caryl Wks. of Ephesus Explained 8 Make him willing to pardon thy sinne by confessing, whom thou doest not make unknowing of thy sinne by concealing.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 587 [He was] simple, and unknowing of matters of State.
1773 J. Boswell Jrnl. 13 Sept. in Jrnl. Tour Hebrides (1785) 227 The unknown person did not perceive that there were people in the hut..but walked on past it, unknowing of his risk.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 242 He laid his hand on the chest, while still unknowing of all that was in it.
1987 D. Homel tr. R. Marteau River without End 3 He who quests only for self goes unknowing of the true state of readiness.
2012 Church Times 14 Sept. 14/1 A passive religion..unknowing of, and disconnected from, its wild inner energies.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings iii. 26 Joab..sente messageris aftyr abnerr: & brouȝte hym aȝeen fro þe cisterne of cira vnknowynge dauyþ [a1425 L.V. while Dauid knew not; L. ignorante David].
1451 J. Gloys in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 68 He thought that ye and James Gresham had do it vn malyce,..your moderes vnknowyng.
1483 Vulgaria abs Terencio (T. Rood & T. Hunte) sig. piijv He hyde n[o]tt fro me that..odyr doo vnknowynge theire faderes.
1531 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student (new ed.) xlii. f. cv The kynge shall take the fraunchyse of the Market into his handes... And if it be done by the Baylyffe vnknowynge the lorde: he shall yelde agayne as moche as he hath taken.
3. With to. Unknown to (a specified person); (after Middle English) spec. without the knowledge of (a specified person); unbeknown to. Chiefly in parenthetic adverbial phrases.unbeknown or unbeknownst are now the more usual terms.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [adjective] > outside one's knowledge
unweeting1303
unwittingc1380
unwistc1385
unware1390
unknowna1393
unknowing1423
unawares1548
unacquainta1699
out of one's beat1839
1423 Guildhall Let.-bk. in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 114 (MED) Euereche Phisician..shall swere þat he..ne he shal entermete of eny sekenes after his trewe estimacion vnknowyng to hym in eny maner.
1462 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 522 It is not onknowyng to yow, þat [etc.].
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xxiv. sig. i.iii A seruaunt..pryuely hydde it..Vnknowynge to Werburge.
1643 E. Symmons Loyall Subj. Beliefe Ep. Ded. Unknowing, I beleeve, to them in particular, some others did intend [etc.].
1795 P. Will tr. J. C. Lavater Secret Jrnl. of Self-observer II. 334 Is it the duty of Love to waste our fortune for friends, to die in their service, unknowing to them?
1837 T. Price J. Williams's Narr. Events Jamaica 12 in Slavery in Amer. One of our friends, unknowing to massa, put a little victuals through a small hole.
1950 Phylon 11 156 His own value judgments, unknowing to him, creep into his systematic theoretical mansion and eat away its foundations.
2006 M. Dascal et al. tr. G. W. Leibniz Art of Controv. (2008) xvi. 159 Unknowing to them, he ordered to fill their sacks with wheat.
B. n.2
With plural agreement and chiefly with the. People who lack knowledge or understanding considered as a class; the ignorant; the ill-informed.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [noun] > person > collectively
learned and lewedc1175
uncunning1338
rudea1350
unknowinga1400
unlearnedc1450
ignorant?a1513
simplec1535
ignorati1817
a1400 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) II. 42 (MED) Crist..is..weye to the errynge, trewth to the unknowyng and doutyng.
a1500 Ratis Raving (Cambr. Kk.1.5) l. 387 in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 11 The thrid wertew is gud quantice That..can..Til wnknawin ken thar office.
1677 Earl of Orrery Treat. Art of War 41 But since there are Printed Books also in English on this Subject, I shall refer the curious, and the unknowing therein, to those Books.
1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. p. xx [They] pass amongst the Unknowing for great Mathematicians.
1876 Nature 2 Nov. 17/1 Undated..works..may be palmed off on the unknowing as the genuine product of the current year.
1913 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 28 2399 To lead the unknowing to infer that poisoning by this substance guaranteed not alone a sure but also a painless death.
2017 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 20 Apr. (Opinion section) 14 Giving him legitimacy in the eyes of the unsuspecting and unknowing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1a1382
adj.n.2c1350