Unrung

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a bell or chime that has not been struck or sounded and so has made no ringing noise
2. Having not been sounded, as when a bell, chime or telephone has stayed silent instead of ringing
3. Referring to a bell that remains silent because it has not been struck or pulled to produce a peal

Etymology: "Unrung" is built from the prefix "un-", meaning "reverse" or "undo", attached to "ring". The sense is a bell or chime that has not sounded, or a bell that has been brought back to silence. Since "unring" is a verb meaning to reverse the ringing of a bell, its past participle "unrung" can describe something that was never rung, or a sound that has been taken back. Both parts are plain English. "Un-" comes from Old English and was productive for forming verbs that reverse an action, such as "unlock" or "untie", and "ring" is an ancient Germanic word for the sound and the object alike. The combination is transparent, so the word needs little more explanation than its parts.