Meaning
Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird.
Etymology
Origin: Middle English
From un- + canny; thus “beyond one's ken,” or outside one's familiar knowledge or perceptions. Compare Middle English unkanne (“unknown”). In the noun sense a translation of Sigmund Freud's usage of German unheimlich (Das Unheimliche, 1919).
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 1 recorded puzzle: