Done or happening without being aware of it; without knowledge or intention.
Combination of 'unknown' (from Old English 'uncnawan') plus the adverbial suffix '-ly.' The 'un-' prefix negates knowledge, while '-ingly' converts it to describe how an action occurs.
Many of the biggest historical changes happened unknowingly—penicillin was discovered when Alexander Fleming forgot to clean his lab dishes and mold grew by accident, leading to antibiotics that saved millions of lives.
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