unlearnedadj.n.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈləːnᵻd/, U.S. /ˌənˈlərnəd/ (in sense A. 4)Brit. /(ˌ)ʌnˈləːnd/, U.S. /ˌənˈlərnd//(ˌ)ʌnˈləːnd/ was previously also common in senses other than A. 4. A. adj.
1. Lacking knowledge, expertise, or experience with regard to a particular subject or skill; unskilled or unpractised in something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > in something spec.
unlearnedc1384
unknowna1393
unskilled1581
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. xi. 6 I be vnlerned [a1400 N.Y. Publ. Lib. vnlerid, c1400 Royal 1.B.6 not lernid; a1425 L.V. unlernd; L. imperitus] in sermoun or word, but not in science, or kunnyng.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2270 (MED) We Romayns þat þey han in prison loke, Ben but ȝonge froth, vnlerned in batayle.
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. lxxjv He maye not be vnlerned in the secretes of the fayth.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Rudis Vnlearned in the Greeke tongue.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxxviii. sig. Iv Some vntuterd youth, Vnlearned in the worlds false subtilties. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 56 I know thee well: But in thy Fortunes am vnlearn'd, and strange. View more context for this quotation
1665 W. Drage Daimonomageia 39 This Redman, by relation, is unlearned in the Languages.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 150 Unlearn'd in all th' industrious arts of toil.
1779 Pictures of Men, Manners & Times II. xxiv. 92 Unlearned in, and ridiculing, the foppery of the fashionable world.
1833 Ld. Tennyson To J. S. v Alas! In grief I am not all unlearn'd.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay viii. 123 Unlearned in the world's lore which was so familiar to himself!
1919 Virginia Law Rev. 6 63 The deed bears on its face evidence of having been drafted by one unlearned in legal phraseology.
1973 Irish Times 30 July 10/8 They are unlearned in the major genres of music.
2010 P. S. Ropp China in World Hist. iv. 50 Half-civilized barbarians, unlearned in the ways of Confucianism.
2. Lacking in learning; uneducated, or not well educated; ignorant, unsophisticated.
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
c1400 Apocalypse St. John: B Version (Harl. 171) (1971) 9 (MED) Bi þe seuene sterris ben bitokened prelatis, þat owen to liȝtne þe vnlerned peple, þat ben in derknessis of vnkunnynge.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 122 How it semeth to symple men vnlerned þat [etc.].
a1450 (c1395) Prefatory Epist. St. Jerome in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (New Coll. Oxf.) (1850) 67 Bothe of the lerned man and vnlerned.
1537 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 131 Because I am rude and vnlernyd, and know not the scriptur.
1582 in Bible (Rheims) Luke x. 21 (margin) The humble vnlearned Catholike knoweth Christ better than the proud learned Heretike.
1630 E. Knott Charity Mistaken vii. 68 There would be, in effect, as many seuerall faithes, amongst vnlearned Christians.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxix. 169 These three opinions..proceeded chiefly from the tongues, and pens of unlearned Divines.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 331 Andronicus's name was prefix'd to it by a Modern and a very Unlearned Hand.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 221. ¶4 But as for my unlearned Friends, if they cannot relish the Motto, I take care to make Provision for them in the Body of my Paper.
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 450 I will now..give a free translation of it for the sake of your unlearned readers.
1820 Brit. Rev. June 306 The Sceptic is accustomed to challenge the unlearned Christian on the ground of argument.
1854 J. G. Whittier Maud Muller 79 She wedded a man unlearned and poor.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 190 But if you were not wise you were unlearned.
1904 G. M. Trevelyan Eng. under Stuarts i. 27 Helpless as an unlearned prisoner was in altercation with a well-primed magistrate or a couple of lawyers.
1972 Anniston (Alabama) Star 21 Mar. 4/4 There sure must be a lot of dumb and unlearned people in the state of Florida.
2016 Pittsburgh Tribune Rev. (Nexis) 21 Feb. The unlearned political commentariat insists still on calling Scalia's judicial philosophy ‘conservative’.
3. Characterized by or demonstrating ignorance or a lack of learning; associated with or relating to uneducated or unsophisticated people as a class.
ΚΠ
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Tim. ii. 23 Folisshe and vnlearned [Gk. ἀπαιδεύτους] questions.
1589 ‘M. Marprelate’ Epitome D iij b His booke is a carnall and vnlearned booke.
1604 F. Herring Modest Def. Caueat (title page) That unlearned and dangerous opinion.
c1657 A. Cowley Ode Dr. Harvey v A barb'rous Wars unlearned Rage.
1705 tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Commonw. Learning 43 With an unpolish'd and unlearned Stile.
1785 E. Burke Speech Nabob Arcot's Debts in Wks. (1815) IV. 316 The unlearned and vulgar passion of admiration.
1839 T. Arnold Jrnl. 22 Sept. in A. P. Stanley Life & Corr. T. Arnold (1844) II. x. 167 An unlearned familiarity with the Scriptures.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. x. 187 The unlearned speech of the lower orders.
1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 497/2 It nevertheless delves in no unlearned way into sociological problems.
1962 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 28 Aug. 4/5 Council refers in rather an unlearned manner to speculation as a bad thing.
2016 Guardian (Nexis) 28 June This may not be a scholarly book on Homer and his world..but it is by no means an unlearned one.
4. Not learnt; not acquired by learning; known intuitively or innately. Cf. unlearnt adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > [adjective] > acquired by learning > not
unlabouredc1450
unlearneda1533
unlearnt1644
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. C.v That there shuld be nothyng vnlerned of hym, he aboue all sciences sette his mynd to Cosmography.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. ii. 179 'Tis wonder That an inuisible instinct should frame them To Royalty vnlearn'd, Honor vntaught. View more context for this quotation
1698 E. Bellamy tr. J. Huarte Examen de Ingenios Proem sig. a6v One speaks many Languages (unlearned).
1707 L. Echard Hist. Eng. iv. 63 What plain and unlearned Zeal, what obedient, quiet and hearty Devotion.
1820 in N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 14 Fact or fable, all was told in rhyme, And came unlearned and reached untaught the heart.
1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. ii. 45 The more he attributes to reason and the less to unlearned instincts.
1913 E. L. Thorndike Orig. Nature of Man xiii. 204 The learning of past generations becomes the unlearned tendencies of the present.
1962 Montana Standard 14 Mar. 4/5 Instinct is an innate, unlearned response.
2016 Kirkus Rev. (Nexis) 19 Jan. Some prodigies seem to be born with extraordinary, unlearned knowledge.
B. n.
Chiefly with the and plural agreement. Uneducated, ignorant, or unsophisticated people considered collectively or as a class.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [noun] > person > collectively
learned and lewedc1175
uncunning1338
rudea1350
unknowinga1400
unlearnedc1450
ignorant?a1513
simplec1535
ignorati1817
c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 38 (MED) Bi good ensaumplis þe preestis schuld lere Þe vnleerned how þei schulden doo.
1496 tr. Medytacions St. Bernarde sig. Ajv I forbede to vnlerned presumptuous correccion.
c1500 Young Children's Bk. (Ashm. 61) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 23 In þi dysch sette not þi spone,..as vn-lernyd done.
1549 J. Olde tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Eph. Prol. to Rdr. C ii To seke the edification of the playne vnlearned.
1578 Bible (Geneva) Pref. to Christian Reader I haue so done for the vnlearneds sake.
1591 (?a1425) Abraham, Lot, & Melchysedeck (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 62 (MED) I will expound yt appertly; the unlearned standinge herebye maye knowe what this may bee.
1623 J. Foorthe Apostles Catechisme (title page) For the benefite of the vnlearned and those that desire more Knowledge.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 50 He useth variety of names, that his work may not easily be understood by the unlearned.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 457. ¶4 An Account of the Works of the Unlearned.
1770 J. Beattie Ess. Truth ii. i. 185 Do not all the unlearned to this day, believe that light is a simple fluid?
1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm v. 120 These doubtful opinions implicate inquiries which the unlearned can never prosecute.
1886 Fortn. Rev. Oct. 508 We must acknowledge, too, that experts know better than the unlearned.
1935 L. B. Wright Middle-class Culture Elizabethan Eng. x. 350 For the ease of the unlearned, Fowldes inserts the translations.
2014 Sc. Express (Nexis) 16 July 14 There will be very little room for the unlearned or talentless.
Compounds
Unlearned Parliament n. [after post-classical Latin parliamentum indoctorum (see Parliament of Dunces n. at parliament n.1 2b)] historical the parliament convened by Henry IV at Coventry in 1404, from which all lawyers were excluded; = Parliament of Dunces n. at parliament n.1 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > a particular English or British parliament
parliamenta1513
Unlearned Parliament1643
Exclusion Parliament1700
Parliament of bats1875
Parliament of Dunces1889
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > a particular English or British parliament > specific
great Parliamentc1450
Good Parliament1580
addle parliament1614
giunto1641
junto1641
Unlearned Parliament1643
Long Parliament1646
rump?1653
Short Parliament1653
lay Parliament1655
Barebone's Parliament1657
Rump Parliament1659
Little Parliamenta1675
Long Parliament1678
Pensioner Parliament1678
Pensioned Parliament1681
Bluestocking Parliamenta1683
Pension Parliament1682
Pensionary Parliament1690
marvellous Parliament?1706
rumple1725
lack-learning Parliament1765
unreported Parliament1839
Cavalier Parliament1849
Addled Parliament1857
merciless Parliament1875
wonderful Parliament1878
nominated Parliament1898
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. ii. 41 Another Parliament.., named the unlearned Parliament, either for the unlearnednesse of the persons, or for their malice to learned men.
1725 J. Stevens Royal Treasury of Eng. 138 No Members should be return'd who knew any thing of Law; and therefore this was afterwards call'd The Unlearned Parliament.
1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xviii. §634–5 In October at Coventry the ‘Unlearned Parliament’ met. This assembly acquired its ominous name from the fact that in the writ of summons, the king..directed that no lawyers should be returned as members.
1958 N. Wilding & P. Laundy Encycl. Parl. 579 This Parliament was afterwards branded as the Unlearned Parliament or Parliamentum indoctum, probably by the legal profession.
2008 D. Biggs in G. Dodd & D. Biggs Reign Henry IV viii. 193 The king addressed the house of commons in the Unlearned Parliament.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.c1384