Unobserved

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Going unnoticed or not seen by anyone; happening without being watched or detected
2. Not being seen or recognized by others
3. occurring in a manner that eludes attention or sight

Etymology: "Unobserved" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "observed," the past participle of "observe." The prefix has been part of English since Old English, when "un-" was a common way to negate an adjective or participle, and it descends from a Germanic form that traces back to the ancient root for "not," shared with the Latin "non" and Greek "ou." Such a negation is one of the most productive tools in the language, so a new word can be built from it on demand. "Observe" itself came into English from Old French, which took it from Latin "observare," meaning to watch, keep, or pay attention to something. The sense of "observed" as "seen or noticed" therefore sits at the heart of the root, and "unobserved" simply reverses it: something that escaped the watching eye.

Synonyms: invisible, unnoticed, hidden, overlooked, ignored

Antonyms: observed, noticed, seen, watched, recognized