Where does “unimaginable” come from?
Unimaginable derives from English imagine, combining Latin in- (not) with Latin -abilis (capable of), ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European óynos and ano-.
unimaginable (English): unable to be imagined; inconceivable or...
Definitions
- unable to be imagined; inconceivable or...
Ancestry of “unimaginable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | imagine | To form a mental image of something; to envision... |
| 2 | Middle English | ymagynen | to imagine or depict; to formulate a mental... |
| 3 | Middle French | imaginer | — |
| 4 | Latin | imāginor | to imagine, conceive |
| 5 | Latin | imāginem | — |
| 6 | Latin | im- | Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |