Not recognized or established as being a particular person or thing; unknown or unnamed.
Formed by adding the prefix 'un-' (not) to 'identified,' which comes from Medieval Latin 'identificare' meaning 'to make the same.' The concept of identification developed in the 17th century from the philosophical idea of establishing sameness or recognizing something as being identical to a known entity.
The phrase 'unidentified flying object' (UFO) popularized this word in the mid-20th century, though the term itself predates this usage by centuries. In forensic science, unidentified remains present one of the most challenging puzzles, sometimes remaining mysteries for decades until DNA technology or other advances provide answers.
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