Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ineligible” come from?

Ineligible comes from French inéligible, composed of the French prefix in- (from Latin in-, meaning "not") and an unattested root ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ne, meaning "not."

ineligible (English): Not eligible; forbidden to do something; One who...

Definitions

  1. Not eligible; forbidden to do something; One who...

Ancestry of “ineligible”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchinéligibleineligible
2Frenchéligibleeligible
3Latineligibiliseligible; desirable
4Latinēligō—
5Latinlegō—
6Latinlēx—
7Proto-Italiclēg-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “ineligible”

  • ineligibly
  • ineligibleness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →