Where does “unintelligible” come from?
Unintelligible comes from Middle French unintelligible, from Latin unintelligibilis, from Proto-Indo-European óynos, ano-, ano-, ne, and h₂ent-, originally meaning "not perceivable by the mind."
unintelligible (English): Not intelligible; unable to be understood
Definitions
- Not intelligible; unable to be understood
Ancestry of “unintelligible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | intelligible | Capable of being understood; clear to the mind |
| 2 | Middle French | intelligible | intelligible |
| 3 | Latin | intelligibilis | Alternative form of intellegibilis |
| 4 | Latin | intellegibilis | understandable, intelligible; perceivable |
| 5 | Latin | intellegō | to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know |
| 6 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 7 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |