- unmentionable
- unmentionable (adj.) 1837, from UN- (Cf. un-) (1) "not" + MENTIONABLE (Cf. mentionable). Unmentionables "trousers" is attested from 1823; meaning "underwear" is recorded from 1910.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
unmentionable
Look at other dictionaries:
unmentionable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ too embarrassing or offensive to be spoken about. ► NOUN humorous ▪ an unmentionable thing … English terms dictionary
unmentionable — index confidential, ineffable Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
unmentionable — [un men′shən ə bəl] adj. not fit to be mentioned, esp. in polite conversation … English World dictionary
unmentionable — [[t]ʌnme̱nʃənəb(ə)l[/t]] ADJ If you describe something as unmentionable, you mean that it is too embarrassing or unpleasant to talk about. Has he got some unmentionable disease? … English dictionary
unmentionable — I. adjective Date: 1837 not fit or allowed to be mentioned or discussed ; unspeakable < an unmentionable topic > II. noun Date: 1823 one that is not to be mentioned or discussed: as a. plural pant III,1 b … New Collegiate Dictionary
unmentionable — un|men|tion|a|ble [ʌnˈmenʃənəbəl] adj too shocking or embarrassing to talk about ▪ unmentionable scandals … Dictionary of contemporary English
unmentionable — adjective too embarrassing, offensive, or shocking to be spoken about. noun chiefly humorous an unmentionable thing. Derivatives unmentionably adverb unmentioned adjective … English new terms dictionary
unmentionable disease — a venereal disease Still the subject of taboo: ... adding an unmentionable disease to the old lady s dossier of Wilt s faults. (Sharpe, 1979) … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms
unmentionable — unmentionableness, n. /un men sheuh neuh beuhl/, adj. 1. not mentionable; inappropriate, unfit, or improper for mention, as in polite conversation; unspeakable. n. 2. something that is not to be mentioned: That subject was classed among the… … Universalium
unmentionable — adjective Not mentionable … Wiktionary
