Where does “inalienable” come from?
Inalienable derives from French inaliénable, composed of the French prefix in- (from Latin in-) and French -able (from Latin -abilis), ultimately from Latin alienus meaning "belonging to another," itself from Latin alius meaning "other," with roots in Proto-Indo-European h₂élyos.
inalienable (English): Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or...
Definitions
- Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or...
Ancestry of “inalienable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | inaliénable | inalienable |
| 2 | French | aliénable | alienable |
| 3 | French | aliéner | to alienate |
| 4 | Latin | aliēnō | to change the nature of a person or thing into something else |
| 5 | Latin | aliēnus | Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign |
| 6 | Latin | alius | other, another, any other; else; different |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | aljos | another |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élyos | other, another |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |