Etymology

OE un- + sene; cp. OIcel ósýnn.

PGmc Ancestor

*segwni- or *sexwan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

sýnn ‘visible, clear, evident; sightly’
(ONP sýnn (adj.); ósýnn (adj.); sjá (2) (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Icel sýnn, sýn, Norw syn, OSw syn

OE Cognate

gesēne ‘seen, visible, evident, plain’ (WS gesīene, gesȳne)

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

CCC1a

Attestation

Widespread in ME.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

WA 1026, 2536

Bibliography

MED unsēn (v.) (sense 3), OED unseen (adj. and n.), Dance sene, de Vries sýnn; sjá (2), Mag. sýnn (1); sjá (2); sénn, Bj-L. se; syn, Seebold sehw-a-, Heid. (-)segwni-, Orel *seʒwniz (II); *sexwanan, Kroonen *seuni-; *sehwan-, AEW ge-sīene