immovable

Etymology

It is formed from English im- + movable,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} with im- the assimilated form of in-, not.^[8] Middle English also had the form immevable.^[9][8][7] Barnhart also allows that it may be a back-formation from immoevablete, recorded in 1380.^[10] The OED compares obsolete French immovable and immouvable.^[2] The second part is from Anglo-Norman mevable, also movable,^[2] from movoir, from Latin moveō.^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not subject to change, fixed: about 1374, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius, so that the figurative use is recorded before the literal one.^[2] Chaucer's form was inmoevable.^[11] Barnhart dates immoeueable to 1380 and immovable to about 1385,^[10] and Etymonline gives the late 14th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense, that cannot be moved, appears about 1440 in the Promptorium Parvulorum, which glosses it with Latin immobilis.^[2][9] A legal sense, of lands and houses as opposed to movable goods, follows about 1449 in Pecock.^[2][9] The word then spread to people: unyielding in purpose (1534) and unmoved by feeling (1639).^[2] The noun, a piece of immovable property and almost always plural, dates from 1588.^[2][4] Johnson (1755) gives three senses, the literal, the legal and "unshaken; unaffected".^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – unalterable, fixed.^[2]
• c. 1440 – that cannot be moved physically.^[2][9]
• c. 1449 – in law, not liable to be removed, of lands and houses.^[2][9]
• 1534 – steadfast, not to be diverted from one's purpose.^[2]
• 1588 – noun, a piece of immovable property.^[2][4]
• 1639 – unmoved by feeling, impassive.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That cannot be moved; firmly fixed: an immovable boulder.^[13][4][2]
2. Not moving; motionless or stationary.^[4][2][3]
3. Not to be turned from one's purpose; steadfast or unyielding: The chairman stayed immovable on the budget.^[13][4][2]
4. Showing or feeling no emotion; impassive.^[13][4][2]
5. Not changing; unalterable.^[13][2]
6. Of a religious feast, falling on the same date every year.^[13][2]
7. (law) Of property such as land and buildings, not liable to be removed.^[13][4][2]

Noun

1. Someone or something that cannot be moved.^[4]
2. (law) A piece of immovable property, usually in the plural: land, buildings and what is attached to them.^[4][2][3]

Word family

• immovability
• immovably
• immovableness

Related words

• immobility
• unmovable
• movable
• move
• immobile

Usage notes

The spelling immoveable is less common in general use, according to Merriam-Webster Unabridged,^[4] though the Shorter Oxford calls it the usual form in law.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
10. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
11. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins