uncomfortable
Meaning
causing or feeling slight pain or physical discomfort.
causing or feeling unease or awkwardness.
Structure
Usage
the wooden chair was very uncomfortable to sit on for long.
there was an uncomfortable silence after his controversial remark.
she felt uncomfortable being the center of attention.
Etymology
The word 'uncomfortable' is a layered construction built upon the core concept of 'comfort'. The root 'comfort' entered English from Old French 'confort', which itself derives from the Late Latin verb 'confortare', meaning 'to strengthen greatly'. The suffix '-able' was attached to form 'comfortable', meaning 'capable of providing ease or strength'. Finally, the Old English negative prefix 'un-' was added to create the opposite meaning. Thus, the literal morphemic sequence 'not' + 'strengthen/ease' + 'capable of' evolved into the modern abstract senses describing either a lack of physical ease or a state of mental unease.
Analysis
un- (old english, a prefix expressing negation); comfort (old french, from latin 'confortare' meaning to strengthen greatly); -able (old french, from latin '-abilis', an adjective-forming suffix meaning 'capable of, fit for').