Indign
/ɪnˈdɪn/noun
Archaic: unworthy, disgraceful, or undeserving.
Did you know?Indign comes from the same Latin idea of worthiness behind dignity, suggesting that historical insults often worked by symbolically removing a person’s social value.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dek-
“To take, accept, or be suitable; the reconstructed root associated with worthiness and propriety.”
Classical Latin
Latin
dignus
“Worthy, suitable, deserving, or honorable.”
Classical Latin
Latin
indignus
“Unworthy, undeserving, or beneath what is proper; formed with in-, “not.””
12th–13th Century
Anglo-Norman French
indigne
“Unworthy or undeserving.”
Middle English
English
indign
“Unworthy, disgraceful, or improper.”
Modern English
English
indign
“An archaic adjective meaning unworthy or disgraceful; largely replaced by “indign” derivatives and related forms such as “indignity.””