unto

B2 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled untoe

US /ˈʌntə/ UK /ˈʌntʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #6426

Meanings

1

prep
To (old or formal use, showing who receives something)

And the Lord said unto Moses.
2

prep
Up to or as far as (old use)

Sir Gawain rode unto the nearby castle.
3

conj
Up to the time that; until (old use)

They worked unto the day was done.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 conj · up to the time that; until... till until

Word family

Derived forms hereuntohitheruntothereuntounto'twhereunto

Related forms onto

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“till; to”)), Old Saxon untō, untuo (“until”), Old High German unze, unzi, unza (“until”), Old Norse und (“as far as; up to”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴 (untē, “until; as long as”).

unto Middle English *untō Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words Register & Style

External links

# unto

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** prep, conj
**IPA (US):** /ˈʌntə/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʌntʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 6426

## Meanings
1. To (old or formal use, showing who receives something)
2. Up to or as far as (old use)
3. Up to the time that; until (old use)

## Examples
- And the Lord said unto Moses.
- Sir Gawain rode unto the nearby castle.
- They worked unto the day was done.

## Derived Forms
- hereunto
- hitherunto
- thereunto
- unto't
- whereunto

## Related Forms
- onto

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: unto
- Root: *untō

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“till; to”)), Old Saxon untō, untuo (“until”), Old High German unze, unzi, unza (“until”), Old Norse und (“as far as; up to”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴 (untē, “until; as long as”).

## AI Etymology
Unto is inherited from Middle English unto, from Old English *untō, *und tō, equivalent to un- (“against; toward; up to”) + to. Cognate with Old Frisian ont to ("until"; > Saterland Frisian antou (“until”)) (cf. Old Frisian und (“up to; till”), Old Frisian til (“till; to”)), Old Saxon untō, untuo (“until”), Old High German unze, unzi, unza (“until”), Old Norse und (“as far as; up to”), Gothic 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌴 (untē, “until; as long as”). In present-day use, it can mean to (old or formal use, showing who receives something), or up to or as far as (old use).

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words
- Register & Style

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