unbeknownst

English

WOTD – 23 June 2012

Etymology

c. 1636: probably from unbeknown +‎ -st

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊnst/

Adverb

unbeknownst (not comparable)

(followed by to) without the knowledge of
He went home early, unbeknownst to his mother.
- 2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club‎:
  Theon’s redemption scene convincingly threatens to kill him right there on the beaches of Dragonstone, dying for a good cause unbeknownst to anyone but the rapscallions who watched him die, but at last it swerves into something genuinely heroic.

Usage notes

Some writers advise against using this word, describing it as "unnecessary". It is true that it can usually be replaced by unknown (to), though the sentence may need rearranging to sound natural:

Unknown to his mother, he went home early.

Translations

Without the knowledge of

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: buiten medeweten van
Finnish: (genitive +) tietämättä
French: à l’insu de (fr)
German: ohne Wissen

Italian: all'insaputa (di)
Polish: bez wiedzy
Portuguese: sem o conhecimento de
Russian: без ве́дома (ru) (bez védoma)
Spanish: (literally) sin el conocimiento de m, desconocido (es) m
Swedish: någon ovetande, någon ovetandes (=unbeknownst to somebody)
Welsh: heb yn wybod i

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