Unkempt is from un- ('not') + kempt, archaic past participle of kemb ('to comb'), from Old English cemban ('to comb'), from camb ('comb'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), cemban (Old English), *kambaz (Proto-Germanic), and *ǵómbʰos (Proto-Indo-European). 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 untidy or disheveled in appearance. The wider family includes related words such as kempt, comb, and unkemptness.