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indistinguishable

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Etymology and origin of the English word indistinguishable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1609 Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida
Ultimate origins
English in-,distinguishable,-ableMiddle French distinguer
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English distinguish
English indistinguishable

Pronunciation

  • /ˌɪndɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəb(ə)l/, /ˌɪndəˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəb(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English in- (“not”) + distinguishable.[2][3][4][5][6] Distinguishable, recorded from the 1590s, is from English distinguish + -able;[3][2] the OED compares Medieval Latin distinguibilis and French distinguable.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of indeterminate shape, with no parts that can be told apart: 1609, in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida in the OED;[2] Etymonline dates Shakespeare's use to about 1600,[3] and Merriam-Webster gives 1606 as the first known use.[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense "that cannot be clearly perceived" followed in 1642[2] (the 1640s in Etymonline),[3] and "that cannot be told apart from something else" in 1658, in Sir Thomas Browne's Garden of Cyrus[2] (the 1650s in Etymonline).[3] The OED also records it used as a noun.[2] Collins notes that it often follows its noun and takes from.[7]

Timeline

  • 1609 – of indeterminate shape, in Shakespeare.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the first use to 1606.[4]
  • 1642 – that cannot be clearly perceived.[2][3]
  • 1658 – that cannot be told apart from something else.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. So alike that they cannot be told apart; identical or nearly so, often followed by from: The forged signature was indistinguishable from the real one.[7][4][2]
  2. Not clearly perceptible; indiscernible.[7][4][2]
  3. Having no clearly distinct parts or outline; of indeterminate shape.[4][2]

Word family

  • indistinguishableness
  • indistinguishably
  • indistinguishability

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Indistinguishable.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/indistinguishable. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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