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uncouth

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un⋅couth

  [uhn-kooth]
Use uncouth in a Sentence
–adjective
1. awkward, clumsy, or unmannerly: uncouth behavior; an uncouth relative who embarrasses the family.
2. strange and ungraceful in appearance or form.
3. unusual or strange.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE uncūth (see un- 1 , couth 2 ); c. D onkond

Related forms:
un⋅couth⋅ly, adverb
un⋅couth⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. discourteous, rude, uncivil. See boorish. 3. odd, unfamiliar.

Antonyms:
1. courteous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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un·couth   (ŭn-kōōth')   
adj.  

  1. Crude; unrefined.

  2. Awkward or clumsy; ungraceful.

  3. Archaic Foreign; unfamiliar.


[Middle English, unknown, strange, from Old English uncūth : un-, not; see un-1 + cūth, known; see gnō- in Indo-European roots.]
un·couth'ly adv., un·couth'ness n.
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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Word Origin & History

uncouth 
O.E. uncuð "unknown, uncertain, unfamiliar," from un- (1) "not" + cuð "known, well-known," pp. of cunnan "to know" (see can (v.)). Meaning "strange, crude, clumsy" is first recorded 1513. The compound (and the thing it describes) widespread in IE languages, cf. L. ignorantem,, O.N. ukuðr, Goth. unkunþs, Skt. ajnatah, Armenian ancanaut', Gk. agnotos, O.Ir. ingnad "unknown."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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