Unjacketed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Stripped of a covering jacket, as with a bullet or a wire that has lost its outer sheath ; lacking any protective outer casing or cover
2. Having had its outer jacket taken off, like a cable or book cover ; not enclosed or fitted within a protective outer layer
3. Describing something from which an outer jacket or sheath has been removed ; left without any external casing or wrapping around it

Etymology: "Unjacketed" is simply "un-" attached to "jacketed," so the history lies mostly in the second half. "Jacketed" is the past-participle-style adjective built from "jacket," a garment or covering. Its sense of being fitted with a covering is what carries over into "unjacketed," meaning not wearing or not covered by a jacket. The prefix "un-" is an old English element meaning "not," and it is productive: English speakers have long attached it to existing adjectives to form negated forms on the fly. "Unjacketed" follows that pattern, so it needs no separate coinage or famous first user to explain it. In practice the word is most often used in technical settings, such as describing a cable, pipe, or bullet that lacks its outer sheath or casing. The literal sense of the garment stays visible in each of these uses.

Synonyms: bare, uncovered

Antonyms: jacketed, sheathed