Unfair
/ʌnˈfɛər/noun
Not just or equitable; not fair.
Did you know?Fair originally meant not just “attractive” but “clean, pleasing, and suitable,” so unfair is basically the language of something that has gone out of proper order.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
un- + fæger
“not pleasing, not beautiful, not suitable”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fagraz
“fair, beautiful, suitable”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pekʷ-
“to appear, to seem, to be fitting”
Old English
OE
un-
“not, opposite of”
Modern English
English
unfair
“not fair; unjust”