Where does “incompressible” come from?
Incompressible comes from French incompressible, from Latin incompressibilis, formed from Latin in- (not) and compressibilis (able to be compressed), from Latin comprimere (to press together).
incompressible (English): Not compressible
Definitions
- Not compressible
Ancestry of “incompressible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | compressible | able to be compressed; Containing a circle that... |
| 2 | English | compress | To make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or... |
| 3 | Middle French | compresse | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | compressare | to press hard/together |
| 5 | Latin | compressus | compressed, restrained, repressed |
| 6 | Latin | comprimō | to compress (squeeze together) |
| 7 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 8 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 9 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |