Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “impregnable” come from?

Impregnable comes from Middle French imprégnable, from Latin impregnabilis, combining the prefix im- with pregnabilis meaning "capable of being taken or seized."

impregnable (English): Too strong to be penetrated; Capable of being...

Definitions

  1. Too strong to be penetrated; Capable of being...

Ancestry of “impregnable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishimpregnateTo cause to become pregnant; To fertilize; To...
2Latinimpraegnatusmade pregnant
3LatinimpraegnoI impregnate; I make pregnant
4Latinīn-—
5Latinîn—
6Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
7Proto-Italicenin
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “impregnable”

  • impregnably
  • unimpregnable
  • impregnableness
  • imprenable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →