Unattended

Unattended

Adjective · /ˌʌnəˈtendɪd/ · not watched over, not dealt with, left without supervision

Definition

Unattended means left without supervision, care, or attention. An unattended child is a child left alone without an adult watching over them. An unattended bag at an airport is a security threat. An unattended email inbox is one nobody is monitoring. An unattended process in computing is one running without human oversight. The word always implies that something or someone requires attention — and is not currently receiving it.

Origin

Unattended is formed from the prefix un- meaning not, plus the past participle attended, from the verb attend. Attend comes from Old French atendre and Latin attendere — to stretch toward, to give heed to. The Latin root is a combination of ad- meaning toward and tendere meaning to stretch. To attend to something is to stretch your attention toward it. To leave it unattended is to withdraw that stretched attention entirely.