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

  1. Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or...

Ancestry of “inalienable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchinaliénableinalienable
2Frenchaliénablealienable
3Frenchaliénerto alienate
4Latinaliēnōto change the nature of a person or thing into something else
5LatinaliēnusOf that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign
6Latinaliusother, another, any other; else; different
7Proto-Italicaljosanother
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂élyosother, another
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂él-to grow, nourish

Words derived from “inalienable”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂él- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂élyos →Every word from Proto-Italic aljos →