unsolemnadj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > obscurity or ingloriousness > [adjective] > not celebrated
unsolemnc1374
unsolemnized1603
anonymous1860
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) i. pr. iii. 11 Of wyche folk þe renoun is neyþer ouer oolde ne vnsolempne [L. incelebris].
2.
a. Not solemn; lacking in formal gravity.
ΚΠ
a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 124 The power..of that kind of vowe is stronger than in..a single unsolempe vow.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. i. ii. Rule 8 §30 Conscience can oblige a Judge to an unsolemn absolution.
1825 R. P. Ward Tremaine II. 106 The not unsolemn rhythm of the regular trot of the horses.
1885 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 14 702 A thing..which by the rules of the House is disorderly and unsolemn.
b. Law. Of a will: Informal.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > testamentary disposition > [adjective] > informal (of will)
unsolemn1590
1590 H. Swinburne Briefe Treat. Test. & Willes i. f. 18 Vnsolemne testamentes are so tearmed, whereas the solemnities of the Ciuil law..are omitted.
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 50 Our lawiers therefore now call those ancient ones ‘solemn testaments’, as the latter sort unsolemn.
1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 527 Such a perfect Will may either be a solemn or unsolemn will.
1774 S. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Civil Law 34 The Privilege of Unsolemn Testaments granted to Soldiers.
1844 H. Tennant Notary's Man. ii. 32 The word ‘Codicillus’ or Codicil..denotes any unsolemn last will, in which no heir is named.
Derivatives
unˈsolemnly adv.
ΚΠ
1821 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson (1857) I. 367 He read the prayers very unsolemnly.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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adj.c1374