unquestioningly
Meaning
in a way that involves accepting or obeying something without any doubt or argument
Structure
Usage
the soldiers followed the orders unquestioningly.
she accepted his authority unquestioningly, never challenging his decisions.
for years, the public trusted the institution's statements unquestioningly.
Etymology
The word is a Modern English formation built upon the core noun and verb "question," which entered English via Old French from Latin quaestionem, a derivative of quaerere meaning "to seek, ask." The negative prefix "un-," of Old English origin, is attached to create the meaning "not questioning." The adverbial suffix "-ingly" is a productive combination in English, where "-ing" creates a participial adjective and "-ly" converts it into an adverb. Thus, the literal morphemic sequence "not" + "asking" + "in the manner of" logically constructs the modern sense of doing something in a manner devoid of doubt or inquiry.
Analysis
- un: a prefix of germanic origin (old english) meaning "not," used to form negatives. - question: a noun/verb of latin origin (from latin quaestio, quaerere 'to seek, ask'), functioning as the core lexical root. - ingly: a compound suffix consisting of '-ing' (forming a present participle or gerund) and '-ly' (forming adverbs), both of germanic origin (old english).