Where does “unassailable” come from?
Unassailable comes from English assailable, which derives from English assail, tracing back through Latin ad- (toward) to Proto-Indo-European ano- and óynos.
unassailable (English): Secure against attack; impregnable; Undeniable,...
Definitions
- Secure against attack; impregnable; Undeniable,...
Ancestry of “unassailable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | assailable | Able to be assailed or attacked |
| 2 | English | assail | To attack with harsh words or violent force |
| 3 | Middle English | assailen | To assail or assault; to loot or attack; To begin... |
| 4 | Old French | assalir | to jump on; to attack; to assault |
| 5 | Latin | assaliō | — |
| 6 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | — |
| 8 | Latin | în | — |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
Words derived from “unassailable”