Unstopped

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not hindered by any barriers or interruptions
2. Remaining accessible and open without any form of obstruction
3. Free from any blockage or pause, allowing continuous passage or flow ; kept open and accessible without any closing or barrier

Etymology: "Unstopped" is formed from the verb "unstop", which came into Middle English as "unstoppen," built from the prefix "un-" (meaning "reverse" or "undo") and "stop." The verb's original sense was literal: to remove whatever blocks an opening, such as a cork from a bottle or a plug from a drain. Its Dutch and German relatives, "ontstoppen" and "entstopfen," follow the same pattern, showing that the idea of pulling a blockage free was shared across the related languages. The adjective sense, meaning free of barriers or interruptions, grows naturally from that physical picture. A passage once cleared of obstruction, or a road or channel with nothing in its way, is "unstopped" in the same sense as an unplugged pipe. The word therefore moves from a concrete act of clearing a hole to an abstract description of an unobstructed course.

Synonyms: unobstructed, clear, open, unimpeded, unblocked

Antonyms: blocked, obstructed, stopped, closed, impeded