insoluble

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈsɒljʊbəl/ (UK); /ɪnˈsɑljəbəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English insolible,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin īnsolūbilis (“that cannot be loosened”),^{[2][3][5][4][6]} partly through Old French insoluble,^[5][6] from Latin in- (“not”) + solūbilis (“that can be loosened”),^[2][3][5] from solvere “to loosen, dissolve” (see soluble).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That cannot be dissolved, undone or loosened; indissoluble (1382);^[7][3][5] also, of a problem, that cannot be solved (1387–93).^[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense “indestructible, indissoluble” is now archaic.^[7][4] The meaning “incapable of being solved or explained” was in use from the late 14th century,^[5][7][6] and the chemical sense, “incapable of being dissolved in a liquid”, dates from 1713.^[5][7][6] The OED also records the word of a debt that cannot be paid off (1850).^[7]

Timeline

• 1382 – that cannot be loosened or undone.^[7]
• 1387 – noun, an insoluble problem.^[7]
• 1393 – of a problem, that cannot be solved.^[7]
• 1713 – that cannot be dissolved in a liquid.^[7][5]
• 1850 – of a debt, unpayable.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. That cannot be dissolved, especially in water, or that dissolves only with difficulty.
2. Difficult or impossible to solve or explain.
3. (archaic) Indissoluble.

Noun

1. Something, such as a substance or a problem, that is insoluble.

Word family

• insolubility
• insolubly
• insolubleness
• insolubilize

Related words

• soluble
• solve
• dissolve
• solution
• insolvable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press