unkissedadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈkɪst/, U.S. /ˌənˈkɪst/ 1. Not kissed; without being kissed. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > kiss > [adjective] > ready to receive a kiss > not
unkisseda1393
kissless1708
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2712 Ofte he goth to bedde unkist.
c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 80 We schulen go vnkist boþe at þe dore & at þe gate.
a1542 T. Wyatt Poems (1914) 206 And thus betraide, Or that I wiste Farewell, unkiste.
a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV (1598) i. sig. Cv I cannot abide a ful cup vnkist.
1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 130 For sure a plumpe-cheekt lasse Shall not the Porters lodge unkissed passe.
1774 Freemen's Mag. 83 Chaste As midnight snows, unkissed by the sun.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 53 She sighed as those sweet sounds did fall From her unkissed lips.
1930 China Press (Shanghai) 11 Sept. 12/1 He preferred to stay unkissed.
1986 P. Conroy Prince of Tides (1987) i. 31 Sallie turned unkissed and walked down the beach toward our house.
2014 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. (Nexis) 25 May At 22, he's still an unkissed virgin.
2. In, or with allusion to, various (chiefly alliterative) proverbial phrases, as unknown, unkissed, uncouth, unkissed, unkissed, unkind, etc. Now rare.Quot. a1985 occurs in a poem to the poet's son who died in 1952, and may have been composed at or around that date.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > kiss > [adjective] > not kissed
unknown, unkisseda1393
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 467 (MED) For men sein unknowe, unkest.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 809 Vnknowe vnkyst and lost þat is vn-sought.
a1450 (?1419–20) Friar Daw's Reply (Digby) l. 232 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 80 On old Englis it is seid vnkissid is vnknowun.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. §1 Our new Poete, who for that he is vncouthe (as said Chaucer) is vnkist, and vnknown to most men, is regarded but of few.
1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris i. ii. sig. Bijv And I will haue a louers fee: they saie, vnkist, vnkinde.
1589 Mar-Martine sig. A2v Thou caytif kerne, vncouth thou art, vnkist thou eke sal bee.
1611 J. Davies Scourge of Folly 171 Farewell vnkist. That farwel's vnkinde; And rather then so: kisse, though behinde.
1624 R. Montagu Immediate Addresse 119 I would gladly see and know, by what warrant I on Earth so vncouth and therefore vnkist,..can say unto them, Holy Peter, blessed Paul, pray for mee.
a1697 J. Aubrey Brief Lives (1898) II. 254 He..ransackt the MSS. of the church of Hereford (there were a great many that lay uncouth and unkiss).
1791 R. Townley Jrnl. kept Isle of Man II. 65 The uncouth should be unkissed, and the unproved, unpraised.
1897 V. Hunt (title) Unkist, Unkind!
1939 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 June 339/3 Mary Fitton, rediviva, is an exquisite creature, a maiden unkissed though not unkind.
a1985 B. Bunting Uncollected Poems (1991) 20 Unseen is not unknown, unkissed is not unloved.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1393