un-kempt

adjective

not combed: unkempt hair.

uncared-for or neglected; disheveled; messy: unkempt clothes; an unkempt lawn.

unpolished; rough; crude.

Origin:
1590–1600; variant of unkembed; see un-¹, kempt

Related forms

un·kempt·ly, adverb

un·kempt·ness, noun

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

unkempt (ʌnˈkɛmpt)

—*adj*
1.	(of the hair) uncombed; dishevelled
2.	ungroomed; slovenly: unkempt appearance
3.	archaic crude or coarse

[Old English uncembed; from un-¹ + cembed, past participle of cemban to comb; related to Old Saxon kembian, Old High German kemben to comb]

un'kemptly

—*adv*

un'kemptness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10

Un-kempt is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

unkempt

1570s, from un- (1) "not" + kempt "well-combed, neat," from variant pp. of O.E. cemban "to comb," from P.Gmc. *kambijan, from *kamb- "comb" (see comb). Form unkembed iss recorded from late 14c. The verb kemb is rare after 1400s, but its negative pp. form endures.

Matching Quote

"Partir, c'est mourir un peu.
(To leave is to die a little.)"

-unknown author

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