Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “impermeable” come from?

Impermeable comes from French imperméable, composed of French in- (not) and Latin mēo (to go), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ne (not) and -dʰlom (course or passage).

impermeable (English): Impossible to permeate; Not allowing passage,...

Definitions

  1. Impossible to permeate; Not allowing passage,...

Ancestry of “impermeable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishpermeablethat absorbs or allows the passage of fluids
2Middle Frenchperméable—
3Latinpermeabilispassable; permeable
4Latin-bilis-ble
5Proto-Italic-ðlis—
6Proto-Indo-European-dʰlis—
7Proto-Indo-European-dʰlomAlternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

Words derived from “impermeable”

  • impermeably
  • impermeableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom →