Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. Not intelligible; unable to be understood

Ancestry of “unintelligible”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishintelligibleCapable of being understood; clear to the mind
2Middle Frenchintelligibleintelligible
3LatinintelligibilisAlternative form of intellegibilis
4Latinintellegibilisunderstandable, intelligible; perceivable
5Latinintellegō—
6Latinlegō—
7Latinlēx—
8Proto-Italiclēg-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “unintelligible”

  • unintelligibly
  • unintelligibleness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →