Where does “incredible” come from?
Incredible comes from Latin incredibilis, formed from the prefix in- meaning "not" and credibilis meaning "believable," ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- meaning "to place or put."
incredible (English): Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief;...
Definitions
- Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief;...
Ancestry of “incredible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | incrēdibilis | unbelievable, incredible |
| 2 | Latin | crēdibilis | credible, worthy of belief, believable |
| 3 | Latin | crēdō | to believe, to trust in, to give credence to |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | krezdō | to believe |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱréddʰh₁eti | to believe, trust |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰh₁eti | Forms resultative verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |