unresponsive
Meaning
not reacting or responding to something
not reacting or responding to treatment or stimulation
Structure
Usage
the patient remained unresponsive to all external stimuli.
the company has been unresponsive to customer complaints.
the soil was dry and unresponsive to the light rain.
Etymology
The word 'unresponsive' is a Modern English formation built upon the established adjective 'responsive'. Its core, 'respons', originates from the Latin verb 'respondere', meaning "to answer or promise in return," which itself is a compound of 're-' (back) and 'spondere' (to pledge). The suffix '-ive' was added in Late Latin to create adjectives denoting a tendency or capacity. The negative prefix 'un-', of Old English origin, was later attached to negate the quality, creating a term that literally means "not having the nature of answering back." This etymological journey from a concrete pledge or answer to a modern abstract sense of lacking reaction illustrates a logical semantic expansion.
Analysis
- un: a prefix of germanic origin, meaning "not," used to form negatives. - respons: from latin 'responsus', the past participle of 'respondere', meaning "to answer, reply, promise in return." - ive: a suffix of latin origin ('-ivus'), used to form adjectives meaning "having the nature or quality of."