unliveried

9.9

Not wearing a special uniform that staff usually wear

adjective
/ʌnˈlɪvərid/

: sin uniforme

Guests were surprised to see an unliveried footman at the formal event.

Examples

The estate's new driver was unliveried, unlike the others who wore crisp uniforms.
The unliveried staff members felt out of place at the formal event.
She preferred her staff unliveried to create a more relaxed atmosphere.
Why was he unliveried during the ceremony?
The guests were surprised to see an unliveried servant at the formal dinner.
She chose to have her staff unliveried for the more casual event.
Unlike the other attendants, the unliveried helper blended in with the guests.

Synonyms

plainclothes

vsunliveried

6 4.2

Wearing ordinary clothes instead of a uniform to avoid being recognized as a police officer

is neutral about intent and simply means not wearing a required uniform

ununiformed

vsunliveried

1 6.6

Not wearing the usual clothes for a job or group

uses the same meaning but refers to official or ceremonial attire

Antonyms

liveried

1 8.8

Wearing a special uniform to show they work for a person or place

Surface Forms

unliveried positive

Morphology

unliveried = liveried (transparent) = un + livery + liver + ed

Formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to 'liveried' (wearing a livery), so the meaning 'not wearing a livery' is directly derived.

Etymology

Unliveried comes from livery, which used to mean clothes or a uniform that was 'given' to servants, a bit like the English word deliver ('to give' or 'hand over'). So unliveried simply means not wearing that provided uniform.