'unplug' originates from the prefix 'un-' meaning 'not' or 'reverse' and the word 'plug', which comes from Middle Dutch 'plugge', meaning 'stopper'.

'plugge' transformed into the English word 'plug', and with the addition of the prefix 'un-', it became 'unplug'.

Initially, it meant 'to remove a stopper', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'disconnecting an electrical device'.