ineligible

Etymology

It is formed from English in- + eligible,^[2][3][4][5] perhaps on the model of French inéligible, recorded in French from 1752.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster takes it as a direct borrowing of the French adjective.^[6] The base adjective is from Old French eligible (“fit to be chosen”), from Late Latin ēligibilis (“that may be chosen”), from Latin ēligō (“to choose”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Unsuitable, especially disqualified legally or otherwise: 1763 in Etymonline.^[3] The OED's first record is from Samuel Johnson's The False Alarm (1770), meaning legally disqualified for election to an office;^[2] Merriam-Webster also gives 1770,^[6] and Dictionary.com dates it to 1760–70.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was political and legal: unable to be elected.^[2][4] From this it widened to "unfit to be chosen, unworthy of choice", recorded in Noah Webster's dictionary of 1828.^[2] In the late 18th century it was also used of actions for "inexpedient, undesirable", a sense now obsolete.^[2][4] As a noun it meant from 1896 a man who was not an acceptable suitor or husband.^[2]

Timeline

• 1763 – unsuitable, disqualified.^[3]
• 1770 – legally disqualified for election.^[2][6]
• 1779 – of actions, inexpedient (obsolete by 1797).^[2]
• 1828 – unfit to be chosen.^[2]
• 1896 – noun, an unsuitable suitor.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not qualified or allowed by the rules or the law to be chosen, to take part or to receive something: Students over twenty-five are ineligible for the grant.^[7][6][2]
2. Not suitable or worthy to be chosen, especially as a husband or wife.^[6][2]
3. (obsolete, 1779–1797) Of actions, inexpedient or undesirable.^[2][4]

Noun

1. A person who is not eligible, formerly especially an unsuitable suitor.^[7][6][2]

Word family

• ineligibility
• ineligibly

Related words

• election
• elect
• elite

References

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