uncouth

English

Etymology

From Middle English uncouth, from Old English uncūþ (unknown; unfamiliar; strange), from Proto-Germanic *unkunþaz (unknown), equivalent to un- + couth.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʌnˈkuːθ/
    Rhymes: -uːθ

Adjective

uncouth (comparative uncouther or more uncouth, superlative uncouthest or most uncouth)

  1. (archaic) Unfamiliar, strange, foreign.
    • 1819: Washington Irving, The Sketch Book (The Voyage)
      There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols.
  2. Clumsy, awkward.
  3. Unrefined, crude.
    • 1699, Samuel Garth, 'The Dispensary', Canto IV, line 204:
      Harsh words, though pertinent, uncouth appear:
      None please the fancy, who offend the ear.

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