incomparable

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English incomparable, also incomperable,^[2] borrowed from Old French incomparable,^[3][4][5][6] recorded in Old French from the 12th century,^[4][3] and partly directly borrowed from Latin incomparābilis (“that cannot be equalled”),^[4][2][7][8] formed from in- (“not”) and comparābilis (“comparable”).^{[4][3][9][10]} The Anglo-Norman adjective is recorded from the second half of the 14th century.^[11] The English adjective is a counterpart of comparable.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Matchless, unequalled: in John Lydgate's Troy Book, which the OED dates 1412–20 and the Middle English Dictionary about 1425, composed before 1420, with "Of bounte ȝe ben incomperable".^[3][2] Barnhart finds the adjective implied in the adverb incomparably in 1410.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word has meant "having no equal" since its first record,^[3][2] and Johnson (1755) defined it as excellent above all comparison.^[12] The literal sense "not to be compared", lacking a common basis of comparison, is recorded from 1614,^[3] although the Middle English Dictionary already has examples of "bearing no comparison".^[2] From 1482 to 1664 the word was also used as an adverb, beyond comparison.^[3][2] As a noun it meant a matchless person or thing from 1704,^[3] and in 1889 the Century Dictionary gave it as a name for the painted bunting, for the bird's brilliant colours.^[3]

Timeline

• 1412 – matchless, unequalled.^[3][2]
• 1482 – as an adverb, beyond comparison (obsolete by 1664).^[3]
• 1614 – not to be compared with something.^[3]
• 1704 – noun, a matchless person or thing.^[3]
• 1889 – a name for the painted bunting.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. So good as to be beyond comparison; matchless, peerless: an incomparable view of the bay.^[13][10][3]
2. Not able to be compared, for lack of a common basis or of comparable qualities.^[13][10][3]

Adverb

1. (obsolete, 1482–1664) Beyond comparison; incomparably.^[3][2]

Word family

• incomparability
• incomparably

Related words

• comparable
• compare

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
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 Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins