JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
James Joyce painted with words like perhaps no other–words created and words already created, thousands of them. What struck me particularly though while looking through Miles Hanley’s Word Index to James Joyce Ulysses, winding my way somehow to the “U” section was the master’s rich un-use use of “un-” words, words prefixed with “un”. It seems surprising to me that there were so many, but that was just a flash reaction, not compared to Shakespeare or Dickens or anyone else.
There are about 400 entries for words beginning with “un”. The following are some examples:
Un Alphabet
A Unaccountable, unadjustable, unaltered, unanswered, unanswering, unascertain, unassuminly, unattached, unattired
B Unbeheld, unbelief, unbelieve, unbiond, unblessed, unblioused, unborn, unbaced, unbridled, ubroken, unbuttoned, unbottoning
C Uncalledfor, unceasingly, uncertain, uncertainly, uncertainty, unclaimed, unclamping
D Un deathliness, underbrim, under jaw, undermines, understandlings, indespairings
E Uneager, unexplicated
F Unfallen, unfeigned, unledged, unfructified
G Unglanced, unguical, ungenitive, ungyved
H Unheaded, unhasty, unheeding
I Uninterruptedly, uninverted
J Unjust (the only entry)
K Unkindly (and three pedestiran others)
L Unlace, unlet, unliving, unlookedfor, unlooped
M Unmack, unmaided, unmerciful
N Unneath, unnumbered
O Unobserved, unoffending, unostentationaly
P Unplumbed, unpar, unposted, unprepossessing
Q Unquestionably (and one other)
R Unreason, unremembered, unreeled
S Unsaluted, unskirted, unsleeved
T Untrammeled
U Unweave, unwooded, unwound.
Unfortunately there are no entries for V, W, X, Y, or Z.
I do not have the un-words of Shakespeare, though it is interesting to see the list of words invented by him (from Shakespeare-online.com, here):