Where does “inerrant” come from?
Inerrant derives from English errant with the Middle English prefix in-, from Latin in- and Latin in meaning "not," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne, oyd-, en, and en.
inerrant (English): Exhibiting inerrancy; without error
Definitions
- Exhibiting inerrancy; without error
Ancestry of “inerrant”, step by step
inerrant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English errant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | errant | Straying from the proper course or standard, or... |
| 2 | Middle English | erraunt | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | erraunt | Alternative form of errant |
| 4 | Old French | errant | wandering; nomadic |
| 5 | Old French | errer | to walk (to); to wander (to) |
| 6 | Latin | errantem | accusative masculine singular of errāns;... |
| 7 | Latin | errō | to wander, rove, stray, roam |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | erzāō | roam, wander; go astray, waver |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ers- | to flow |