Unheed is from un- ('not, reverse') + heed, from Old English hēdan ('to take care, attend to'), of West Germanic origin. Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), hēdan (Old English), and *hōdjan (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers to disregard or pay no attention to. The wider family includes derived forms such as unheeded and unheeding and related words such as heed, heedful, and heedless.