Un- is not always negative - Ravel & Unravel

Last updated Jun 13, 2022 Edit Source

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When ‘Un-’ Isn’t Negative | Merriam-Webster

These are three instances in which a verb beginning with un- means the same as, rather than the negative or opposite of, its stem.

And while it might seem frustratingly illogical when you are used to regarding un- strictly as a negative prefix, this use of un- isn’t as irrational as it looks.

In all three cases—unthaw, unloosen, and unravel—the un- form of the verb came into being only after its stem was already established in English.

And in all three cases, notably, the verb stem already connotes some kind of undoing, an action of removing something from a state that had existed (frozenness, knottedness, intactness).

Rather than negating each action, the placement of un- in front of these verb stems seems to reinforce the undoing action of each—thereby emphasizing the idea of negation rather than serving to negate the verb stem itself.

Source: The verb “ravel” has two contradicting definitions. | WordReference Forums

Don’t blame the dictionaries. This is an odd word, which does have two contradictory meanings: to tangle, and to untangle.

Online Etymology Dictionary:
ravel
1582, “to untangle, unwind,” also “to become tangled or confused” (1585), from Du. ravelen “to tangle, fray, unweave,” from rafel “frayed thread.” The seemingly contradictory senses of this word (ravel and unravel are both synonyms and antonyms) are reconciled by its roots in weaving and sewing: as threads become unwoven, they get tangled.