unconscious
Meaning
in a state like sleep because of an injury or illness, and not able to use your senses
not aware of something, especially when this has negative results
the part of your mind that contains feelings and ideas you do not know about or cannot control
Structure
Usage
the driver was knocked unconscious in the crash.
she was unconscious of the effect she was having on the audience.
his fear of failure comes from deep in his unconscious.
Etymology
the word "unconscious" is built from a core latin-derived adjective, "conscious," which literally means "knowing with" or "sharing knowledge." the prefix "con-" (with) combined with the root "scious" (knowing) originally implied a shared or internal awareness. the addition of the old english negative prefix "un-" directly inverts this meaning to "not knowing with" or "not aware." over time, this literal negation evolved into its specialized modern meanings, ranging from the medical state of lacking sensory awareness to the psychological concept of the part of the mind containing inaccessible knowledge.
Analysis
- un: a prefix of english origin (from old english), meaning "not". - con: a prefix of latin origin (from latin cum), meaning "with, together". - scious: a root of latin origin (from latin scire, "to know"), forming adjectives meaning "having knowledge, aware".