unseen

Etymology 1

From Middle English unsen, unseyn, unseien, from Old English unġesewen, from Proto-Germanic *unsewanaz, equivalent to un- + seen. Cognate with Dutch ongezien (“unseen”), German Low German unsehn (“unseen”), German ungesehen (“unseen”).

adj

1. Not seen or discovered; invisible.
   Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto. 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lecture 3
   Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much. 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18
2. Unskilled; inexperienced.
3. Not hitherto noticed; unobserved.
   The advent of COVID passports, so soon after increased check-in bureaucracy post-Brexit, brought major logistical ramifications to St Pancras International, of a kind unseen at any other major station in Britain. November 30 2022, Nick Brodrick, “Pride and innovation shine at St Pancras”, in RAIL, number 971, page 67

Etymology 2

un- + seen

verb

1. past participle of unsee
   What has been seen cannot be unseen.

noun

1. An examination involving material not previously seen or studied.
   I have French and Latin unseens this summer.