Where does “impensable” come from?
impensable (French) comes from French pensable, from French penser, from Middle French penser, from Old French penser, from Latin pēnsāre, from Latin pendēre, from Latin pendō, from Proto-Italic pendō — to stretch.
impensable (French): unthinkable
Ancestry of “impensable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | pensable | thinkable; considerable |
| 2 | French | penser | to think, reflect, concentrate one's mind on... |
| 3 | Middle French | penser | to think; to reflect; to think |
| 4 | Old French | penser | to think; thought |
| 5 | Latin | pēnsāre | — |
| 6 | Latin | pendēre | — |
| 7 | Latin | pendō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |
Words derived from “impensable”