Unglassed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not having a glass coating, thus open to the atmosphere
2. Lacking any glass enclosure or panel, leaving the item exposed to the surrounding air
3. Describes something from which glass has been removed or was never added, making it open to elements

Etymology: "Unglassed" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-" ("not") attached to "glassed," the past participle of "glass," used here in the sense of fitted with glass. A building or window frame that is unglassed has no panes of glass in its openings, so the word describes a state of absence rather than anything special in its making. The participle "glassed" itself comes from the noun "glass," which entered English from Old English "glæs" and has long been used both for the material and for objects made of it, such as drinking vessels and windows. Verbs built from "glass" in the sense of fitting with glass, such as "glazed" in the older English sense of set with panes, sit behind the word, so "unglassed" simply reverses that fitting.