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unbeknown

 - 2 dictionary results

un⋅be⋅known

  [uhn-bi-nohn]
Use unbeknown in a Sentence
–adjective
unknown; unperceived; without one's knowledge (usually fol. by to).
Also, un⋅be⋅knownst  [uhn-bi-nohnst] .

Origin:
1630–40; un- 1 + beknown (late ME beknowe, ptp. of beknowen); see be-, known
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To unbeknown
un·be·known   (ŭn'bĭ-nōn')   
adj.  Occurring or existing without the knowledge of; unknown: a crisis unbeknown to us.

[un-1 + obsolete beknown, known (from Middle English beknowen, past participle of beknowen, to get to know, from Old English becnāwan : be-, be- + cnāwan, to know; see know).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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