intangible

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin intangibilis,^[2][3][4] which the OED compares with French intangible, recorded in 1508.^[2] Barnhart takes it as probably from Middle French intangible,^[5][6] and Etymonline, Merriam-Webster and the Oxford Dictionary of English allow either source.^[7][8][9] The Medieval Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not”) and Late Latin tangibilis (“that may be touched”),^[7][8][3] the source of tangible, from Latin tangō (“to touch”), from Proto-Indo-European *tag- (“to touch, handle”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Incapable of being touched, not perceptible to touch: 1640, in a work by Bishop J. Wilkins on a new planet.^[2][10] Etymonline dates the word to the 1630s,^[7] and Dictionary.com to 1630–40.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Webster (1828) defined it as "that cannot or may not be touched" and quoted Marshall: "A corporation is an artificial, invisible, intangible being."^[10] The figurative sense, "that cannot be grasped by the mind", is recorded from 1880.^[2][7] The noun, "something intangible", and especially in the plural an asset such as goodwill or a right that cannot easily be measured, is dated 1914 by the OED and Merriam-Webster,^[2][8] and 1909 by Etymonline.^[7] From 1929 the OED also records the sense "inviolable".^[2] Modern dictionaries use the noun for valuable abstract qualities too, such as a player's determination or loyalty.^[11][8]

Timeline

• 1640 – not perceptible to touch.^[2][8][5]
• 1880 – that cannot be grasped by the mind.^[2][7]
• 1914 – noun, something intangible; an intangible asset.^[2][8] Etymonline dates the noun to 1909.^[7]
• 1929 – inviolable.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That cannot be touched or perceived by touch; impalpable: an intangible presence in the empty house.^[8][12][2]
2. Hard to define or grasp with the mind; vague or elusive: an intangible sense of unease.^{[8][12][2][11]}
3. Of an asset, having value but no physical existence, as goodwill or a patent.^[12][11]

Noun

1. Something intangible, especially an abstract quality such as perseverance that contributes to success.^[11][8]
2. (often in the plural) An intangible asset.^[11][8][2]

Word family

• intangibility
• intangibly
• intangibleness

Related words

• tangible
• tact
• tangent
• contact

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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
11. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins