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▪ I. unˈeven, a.
[OE. unefen (f. un- un-1 7 + efen even a.), = OFris. oniovn (WFris. on-, ûneven, NFris. unēven, -īven), MDu. and Du. oneven, -effen, MLG. uneven, OHG. uneban (MHG. and G. uneben), ON. and Icel. ú-, ójafn (Norw. ujamn, Sw. ojemn, Da. ujevn).]
1. a. Unequal; not properly corresponding or agreeing. Now rare.
a900Cynewulf Crist 1460 Hu þær wæs unefen racu unc ᵹemæne! a1225Ancr. R. 312 Ure blod..aȝean his blode þet he shedde for us were ful unefne chaunge. a1340Hampole Psalter xlii. 1 My consciens and my ȝernynge is vneuen til þairs. 1390Gower Conf. II. 279 Thou tellest forth, Hou that hire weyhte of love unevene Is unto thin. c1450Myrr. our Ladye 104 Yf it were vneuen to the tother, or faylynge in eny thynge that an other had. a1470H. Parker Dives & Pauper (W. de W. 1496) vii. xi. 293/1 By wyckednesse of false couetyse in the people men ben uneuen in rychesse. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. v. 9 So forth they traueld an vneuen payre,..A saluage man matcht with a Ladie fayre. 1609J. Davies (Heref.) Holy Roode Wks. (Grosart) I. 8/2 What diff'rence is betweene those Hymnes diuine!.. They are as Fame, and Shame, no lesse vneu'n. 1669Boyle Contn. New Exp. i. (1682) 40 Two pipes of Glass very uneven in length. 1885Manch. Exam. 14 July 4/5 Stands are very uneven, and the size of the plant varies from 2 in. to 3½ ft.
b. Of numbers: Odd. Also of things: Making up, or marked by, an odd number.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 35 Which Plinie accounteth to haue vneauen corners as Pease hath. 1598Florio, Disparo, vneeuen, or od in number, vnequall. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 173 Nothing ought to be eaten by euen numbers, but by vneuen, wherewith God is pleased. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 78 Let rauisht Poets drinke thrice three, Of whom the vneuen Muses be Belou'd. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Number, The Sum, or the Difference, of two uneven Numbers, makes an even Number. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 265 According to the folio either of an even, or uneven page. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 485 Then the triad or number three is uneven. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab., Uneven pages, pages with odd folios, such as 1, 3, 5, etc.
†2. Unequitable, unfair, unjust:
a. Of acts, etc.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 316 Summe ben too wel fed bi vneuene partyng of here goodis. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxi. (1495) 922 For euen and vneuen dedes that here ben doon. 1585Abp. Sandys Serm. ii. 40 If merchaunts..doe inriche themselues by impouerishing others, through deceitfull shifts, the common wealth suffereth dammage by their vneuen dealings. 1613J. Fletcher Christ's Bloody Sweat 11 By courses indirect and lawes vn-euen, Of will and sensuall lust.
†b. Of persons, etc. Obs.
c1400Apol. Loll. 104 Þei are vnfeiþful to þer souereyns, vn euyn to þer lowar. a1500Ratis Raving Prol. 60 He saw..rychtwysmen and god-lyk baith, With wykyt men & wnewyne lyk scaith. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. iii. 392 They are in this their partition, so parciall and vneuen dealers, that they will not leaue to Christ, the whole cleansing of the guilt. 1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xxi. 780/2 N. D. with his vneuen hand (euer ouerhard to shadow the truth). 1641Milton Animadv. 7 Sir Francis Bacon..complaines of the Bishops uneven hand over these Pamflets.
3. Diverging from a straight or exactly parallel position. (In early quots. fig.)
1390Gower Conf. I. 30 Thei hemself divide And stonden out of reule unevene. Ibid. II. 126 Among the vices..Ther is yit on..Which al this world hath set unevene. 1639Ld. Digby Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 90 And lines many times that at first appear parallels to the eie..prove apparently uneven. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiv. ⁋15 If..the sides of the Sheet lye uneven upon the Tympan-sheet. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley i, The windows were uneven.
4. Not smooth or level; irregular, broken, rugged.
a. Of ground, etc.
c1275in O.E. Misc. 75/88 Þe weyes beoþ vn-euene, Wiþ wepynde stefne To helle he schulle þenne. 1565Cooper s.v. Inæquabilis, An open place beyng high and low, or vneuen. 1577Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. i. 42 b, Beastes and Poultry..with tramplyng and skraping wyll make it rugged and uneven. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 26 Eight yards of vneuen ground, is threescore & ten miles afoot with me. 1618J. Taylor (Water P.) Penniless Pilgr. E 4, The way so vneuen, stonie, and full of bogges. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 91 Aquaries [governs] Hilly and uneven places. 1746in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 440 As we march'd, all the way up hill, and over very uneven Ground, our men were greatly Blown. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 290 In it [sc. the sea-bottom] we find the same uneven surface that we do upon land. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. (1871) II. 199 On the verge and within the crater of an extinct volcano, and therefore..as uneven as the sea in a tempest.
fig.1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. i. 5 Vneuen is the course, I like it not. a1596Sir T. More iv. v. 4 You see the floore of greatnesse is uneuen.
b. In general use.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. iii. (1495) e vj b/1 The vtter partyes ben vneuyn wyth holownes sonke and had partes areryd. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 48 For one of them was like an Eagles claw,..The other like a Beares vneuen paw. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. 162 The sorting together of Wools of seueral natures,..which causeth cloth to cockle and be uneven. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xvii. ⁋2 [He] cuts out what may remain in the bottom of the Shanck by reason of the un-even breaking. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 140 Its Bark is somewhat rugged and uneaven. 1798S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 431 The uneven writing..proved that it was sent while the young man was still fluctuating between life and death. 1810Crabbe Borough xxii. 178 The sun-burnt tar..And bank-side stakes in their uneven ranks. 1855Poultry Chron. III. 522/1 The upper part of the cell..being more convex; therefore, the comb is very uneven.
absol.1796Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 157 Fracture, fine or coarse splintery, which sometimes pass into the uneven of a fine grain.
c. transf. and fig. (of immaterial things, sounds, style, etc.).
OE. unefn, unemn, occurs in similar uses.
(a)1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. i. 50 Farre more vneuen and vnwelcome Newes Came from the North. 1603― Meas. for M. iv. iv. 3 In most vneuen and distracted manner, his actions show much like to madnesse. 1649Lovelace Poems (1864) 114 Where is a joy uneven, There never, never can be Heav'n. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 159 Such is the uneven State of human Life. 1763Scrafton Indostan iii. (1770) 76 The uneven temper of the Soubah could never long retain its disguise. 1886J. J. H. Burgess Shetland Sketches, etc. i. 48 He..went away down to the house, feeling very sorrowful, and mad, and altogether uneven.
(b)1608Willet Hexapla Exod. 50 The horses euill and vneuen going proceedeth of his owne lamenes.
(c)1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iii. ix. 150 Not only with cold Air, but with any other uneven noise, passing through their Mouth into their Ears. 1731Pope Ep. Burlington 143 Light quirks of Music, broken and uneven. 1811W. R. Spencer Poems Ded., His strain is weak, his voice uneven.
(d)1763J. Brown Poetry & Music vi. 111 Homer is equal, large, flowing, and harmonious; Eschylus is uneven, concise, abrupt, and rugged.
(e)1905R. Brooke Let. 25 Mar. (1968) 19 It's not a bad number [of a magazine], a bit uneven of course; but then you can't expect the other men to ascend to my level. 1974Country Life 7 Feb. 240/2 Almost no one was more uneven, as it is politely called, than G. F. Watts.
5. Comb., as uneven-carriaged, uneven-numbered, uneven-roofed; uneven-aged a., (of a group of trees) containing individuals of different ages.
1670Brooks Wks. (1867) VI. 342 A rotten heart, is a very uneven-carriaged heart. 1882Contemp. Rev. Aug. 234 The 16 alternate or uneven-numbered sections in all townships. 1887J. J. Hissey Holiday on Road i. 3 Weather-stained out⁓buildings, lichen-laden and uneven-roofed. 1905Terms Forestry & Logging (U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau Forestry) 14 Forests in which the trees differ considerably in age..uneven-aged forest. 1953H. L. Edlin Forester's Handbk. vii. 105 Woodlands may..be..uneven-aged, with trees of various ages and therefore differing sizes.
▸ uneven bars n. Gymnastics (chiefly N. Amer.) = asymmetric bars n. at asymmetric adj. Additions; cf. uneven parallel bars n. at Additions.
1952N.Y. Times 21 Dec. v. 5/4 *Uneven Bars—Margit Korondi, Hungary. 1974Marysville (Ohio) Jrnl.-Tribune 26 Nov. 5/4 Olga did her famous back flip on the high uneven bar, and showed her highly flexible moves on the beam. 2003K. G. Harmon in A. Rubin Sports Injuries & Emergencies xxxvii. 306 Hand position required to complete certain maneuvers, particularly on uneven bars, may place the shoulder or elbow at risk for dislocation.
▸ uneven parallel bars n. Gymnastics (chiefly N. Amer.) = asymmetric bars n. at asymmetric adj. Additions; cf. uneven bars n. at Additions.
1943N.Y. Times 18 Apr. (Sports section) 2/3 The events scheduled for this championship include the Olympic program, consisting of parallel bars, even and *uneven; balance beam; [etc.]. 1952Amateur Athletic Union U.S. Gymnastics Yearbk. 81 You should start training immediately on the compulsory and optional exercises on the Uneven Parallel Bars. 1981Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 26 May 14/1 The Gettysburg youth won a gold medal in the uneven parallel bar and a bronze medal for the balance beam. 2003Dance Spirit July–Aug. 129/3 She was sidelined by a back injury after a dismount from the uneven parallel bars.
▪ II. unˈeven, adv.
[OE. unefne (f. un- un-1 11 b + efne even adv.), = MDu. onevene, -effene (obs. Du. oneven), OS. unefno, MLG. unevene, -even, MHG. unebene, -eben.]
= unevenly adv.
c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxl. 9 Swa unefne is eorþe þicce. c1275in O.E. Misc. 86/1 Weole, þu art awaried þing, vneuene constu dele. a1300Cursor M. 24178 Þou..folus þam þat þe wald fle, And luues all þat letthes þe, þis part vneuen es delt. 1390Gower Conf. I. 9 So stant the pes unevene parted. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 96 The ballance gois vnevin.
▪ III. unˈeven, v.
[un-2 6 a.]
To make uneven.
c1440Pallad. On Husb. x. 100 For eny thyng no beest vppon hit trede; Vneven hit they wolde, hit is to drede. |