inexcusable

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inexcūsābilis (“without excuse; affording no excuse”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed from in- (“not”) and excūsābilis (“excusable”),^[2][4][5] from excūsō (“to excuse, make an excuse for”),^[3] which is formed from ex- (“out, away”) and causa (“accusation, legal action”).^[3] The Middle English Dictionary records it as inexcusable, of Latin origin,^[7] and the OED compares French inexcusable, recorded in 1474.^[2] Partridge treats it under cause.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person or of conduct, that cannot be pardoned or excused: before 1425, in a Wycliffite tract that calls Antichrist and his followers, hardened in malice, inexcusable.^[7] The 1989 text of the OED, not yet revised, starts with Tyndale's Bible of 1526,^[2] and Etymonline dates the word to the early 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word was used of persons and conduct, and once, in the play Mankind (c. 1475), of a reproach or punishment that could not be escaped.^[7] The OED separates its use of persons, from Tyndale's version of Romans (1526), from its use of conduct or actions, from 1555.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "not to be excused; not to be palliated by apology".^[9] The adverb inexcusably is recorded from the late 16th century and the noun inexcusableness from the early 17th.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1425 – of a person or conduct, unpardonable.^[7]
• c. 1475 – of a reproach or punishment, inescapable.^[7]
• 1526 – of persons, without excuse, in Tyndale's Bible.^[2]
• 1555 – of conduct or actions, impossible to justify.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Too bad to be excused or justified; unforgivable: Leaving the children alone in the car was inexcusable.^[4][10][2]

Word family

• inexcusableness
• inexcusably
• inexcusability

Related words

• excuse
• excusable
• cause

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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)
8. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins