Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “irredeemable” come from?

Irredeemable comes from English redeem, Latin redimere (to buy back), combining Latin re- (back) and emere (to buy), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer- (to turn or bend).

irredeemable (English): Not redeemable; not able to be restored,...

Definitions

  1. Not redeemable; not able to be restored,...

Ancestry of “irredeemable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishredeemableCapable of being redeemed; able to be restored or...
2EnglishredeemTo recover ownership of something by buying it...
3Middle EnglishredemenTo redeem or liberate; To pay compensation to...
4Old Frenchredimer—
5LatinredimoI buy back, repurchase, redeem; I atone for; I...
6Latinred-Primarily ante-vocalic or poetic variant of re-
7Latinre-back, backwards; again; prefix added to various...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwret-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
10Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “irredeemable”

  • irredeemably
  • irredeemableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →