unbeknown

[ uhn-bi-nohn ]

/ ˌʌn bɪˈnoʊn /

adjective

unknown; unperceived; without one's knowledge (usually followed by to).

Nearby words

Also un·be·knownst

[uhn-bi-nohnst] /ˌʌn bɪˈnoʊnst/.

Origin of unbeknown

1630–40; un-¹ + beknown (late Middle English beknowe, past participle of beknowen); see be-, known

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unbeknown

Sometimes we would, unbeknown to our master, assemble in a cabin and sing songs and spirituals.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States|Work Projects Administration
All unbeknown to any of us, she had fallen in love with Ralph Hathaway, a handsome, penniless adventurer from the West.
Flood Tide|Sara Ware Bassett
But the ring and the vile laws laid holt of her, unbeknown to her, and dragged her down.
Sweet Cicely|Josiah Allen's Wife: Marietta Holley
That wonderful man, as is always prowling about, unbeknown to any one.
Cripps, the Carrier|R. D. (Richard Doddridge) Blackmore

Mr. Lincoln told the general he would like to let Jeff Davis escape all unbeknown to himself: he had no use for him.
Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865|Ward Hill Lamon

British Dictionary definitions for unbeknown

unbeknown

/ (ˌʌnbɪˈnəʊn) /

adverb

(sentence modifier foll by to) without the knowledge (of a person)unbeknown to him she had left the country Also (esp Brit): unbeknownst

adjective

(postpositive usually foll by to) rare not known (to)

Word Origin for unbeknown

C17: from the archaic beknown known; see be-, know

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unbeknown

unbeknown

adj.

1630s, from un- (1) "not" + beknown (see beknow).