Where does “unalienable” come from?
Unalienable derives from English alienable, which comes from Latin alienus meaning "belonging to another," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European óynos.
unalienable (English): Not alienable
Definitions
- Not alienable
Ancestry of “unalienable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | alienable | Capable of being alienated, sold, or transferred... |
| 2 | English | alien | Any life form of extraterrestrial or... |
| 3 | Middle English | alien | An outsider or foreign person, especially one who... |
| 4 | Old French | alien | alien; foreign; non-native; alien |
| 5 | Latin | aliēnus | Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign |
| 6 | Latin | alius | other, another, any other; else; different |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | aljos | another |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élyos | other, another |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |