It means happening without someone's knowledge, used in phrases to indicate something a specific person or group was unaware of. The form unbeknown is even more rarely used.
Examples:
Unbeknownst to the crew, the captain had decided to scuttle the ship.
The rebels had surrounded the town, unbeknownst to the local army garrison.
To spike a drink is to add alcohol or drugs to the drink, unbeknownst to the owner of the drink.
unbeknownst
The spelling of the archaic word is unbeknownst(unknown, to someone).Example:"Unbeknownst to the British, the Americans had slipped away in the night."
The "eureka phenomenon" was discovered by Isaac Asimov and described in his 1971 essay with the same name. His theory, in simple terms, is that a person has both voluntary and involuntary thought processes. When the voluntary thoughts are exhausted, one must relax and their involuntary thoughts will take over, unbeknownst to the individual, and come up with a solution. His main example was Archimedes' discovery that one could measure the volume of something with an irregular shape by immersing it in water- a discovery that was made whilst bathing in the public bath.
The haudensaunee mean irguios
The correct spelling is "unbeknownst" (not known).
"Unbeknownst" means without someone's knowledge or awareness.
"Unbeknownst" means "happening without the subject knowing". So you could say, "Unbeknownst to Joe, a tree fell in the forest."
There is a pronunciation audio file on this site: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unbeknownst
To spike a drink is to add alcohol or drugs to the drink, unbeknownst to the owner of the drink.
To spike a drink is to add alcohol or drugs to the drink, unbeknownst to the owner of the drink.
unbeknownst
Unbeknownst to the teenagers, a policeman was on his way to shut down the raging house party.
The word "unbeknownst" appears on page 22 of "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli.
The spelling of the archaic word is unbeknownst(unknown, to someone).Example:"Unbeknownst to the British, the Americans had slipped away in the night."
Julie Jordan Hanson has written: 'Unbeknownst'
First found in County Londonderry, the Irish surname "Keane" appears in it's Gaelic form as "O Cathain" or "Mac Cathain". While the meaning of this surname remains unbeknownst to me, the family motto is: "A stroked cat is gentle".