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Origin and history of unzip

unzip(v.)

"unfasten the zipper of, open by unfastening a zip," 1939, from un- (2) "opposite of" + zip (v.). Related: Unzipped; unzipping.

also from 1939

Entries linking to unzip

zip(v.1)

"move rapidly," making a sound expressed by "zip" (see zip (n.1)); by 1852, echoic. Related: Zipped; zipping.

un-(2)

prefix of reversal, deprivation, or removal (as in unhand, undo, unbutton), Old English on-, un-, from Proto-Germanic *andi- (source also of Old Saxon ant-, Old Norse and-, Dutch ont-, Old High German ant-, German ent-, Gothic and- "against"), from PIE *anti "facing opposite, near, in front of, before, against" (from PIE root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before").

More or less confused with un- (1) through similarity in the notions of "negation" and "reversal;" an adjective such as unlocked might represent "not locked" (un- (1)) or the past tense of unlock (un- (2)).

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    Trends of unzip

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    penance
    c. 1300, penaunce, "religious discipline or self-mortification as a token of repentance and as atonement for some sin; sorrow for sin shown by outward acts under authority and regulation of the Church," from Anglo-French penaunce, Old French peneance (12c.), from Latin pænitentia
    vesper
    late 14c., "the evening star," from Old French vespre "evening, nightfall" (12c., Modern French vêpre), from Latin vesper (masc.), vespera (fem.) "evening star, evening, west," related to Greek hesperos, and ultimately from PIE *uekero- "evening, night" (source also of Armenian g
    bust
    1690s, "sculpture of upper torso and head," from French buste (16c.), from Italian busto "upper body," from Latin bustum "funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned," perhaps shortened from ambustum, neuter of ambustus "burned around," past
    iron
    Middle English iron, iren, yron, from Old English iren, variant (with rhotacism of -s-) of isen, later form of isern, isærn "the metal iron; an iron weapon or instrument," from Proto-Germanic *isarn (source also of Old Saxon isarn, Old Frisian isern, Old Norse isarn, Middle Dutch
    specious
    late 14c., "pleasing to the sight, fair," from Latin speciosus "good-looking, beautiful, fair," also "showy, pretended, plausible, specious" (source also of Old French specieux, specieuse), from species "appearance, form, figure, beauty" (see species). Meaning "seemingly desirabl
    deed
    "that which is done, acted, or performed, whether good or bad, great or small," Old English dæd "a doing, act, action; transaction, event," from Proto-Germanic *dethi- (source also of Old Saxon dad, Old Norse dað, Old Frisian dede, Middle Dutch daet, Dutch daad, Old High German t
    account
    c. 1300, "counting," especially "reckoning of money received and paid, detailed statement of funds owed or spent or property held," from Old French acont "(financial) account, reckoning, terminal payment," from a "to" (see ad-) + cont "counting, reckoning of money to be paid," fr
    moonlight
    "hold a second job, especially at night," 1957 (implied in the verbal noun moonlighting), from moonlighter "one who takes a second job after hours" (1954), from the notion of working by the light of the moon; see moonlight (n.). Earlier the verb had been used to mean "commit crim
    modern
    c. 1500, "now existing;" 1580s, "of or pertaining to present or recent times;" from French moderne (15c.) and directly from Late Latin modernus "modern" (Priscian, Cassiodorus), from Latin modo "just now, in a (certain) manner," from modo (adv.) "to the measure," ablative of modu
    virus
    late 14c., "poisonous substance" (a sense now archaic), from Latin virus "poison, sap of plants, slimy liquid, a potent juice," from Proto-Italic *weis-o-(s-) "poison," which is probably from a PIE root *ueis-, perhaps originally meaning "to melt away, to flow," used of foul or m

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    Dictionary entries near unzip
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