'unhook' originates from Middle English, specifically the prefix 'un-' meaning 'not' or 'opposite of', and 'hook', which comes from Old English 'hōc', meaning 'a curved or bent device'.

'unhook' changed from the Middle English word 'unhoken' and eventually became the modern English word 'unhook'.

Initially, it meant 'to remove from a hook', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.