irrevocable

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English irrevocable,^[2] borrowed from Latin irrevocābilis (“that cannot be recalled, unalterable”),^[3][4][5][6] perhaps in part through French irrévocable, recorded in 1357.^[3] Barnhart, the Middle English Dictionary and the Shorter Oxford also name French as a source.^[7][2][8] The Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not”), in its assimilated form, and revocābilis (“that can be called back”),^[4][3][7] from revocō (“to call back”),^[3][4] from re- (“back”) and vocō (“to call”),^[4][9] from Proto-Indo-European *wekw- (“to speak”).^[4] The spelling irrevokable follows English revoke.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That cannot be called back: 1382, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, where a sword comes out of its sheath "irreuocable [...], or that may not be clepid aȝen", rendering the Latin of Ezekiel 21:5.^[3][2] Barnhart dates the same passage about 1384.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The literal "that cannot be called or brought back" soon extended to words and decisions that cannot be withdrawn or annulled: the Middle English Dictionary has "irrevocable wordis" of the Gospel in 1449,^[2] and the OED has this sense from Caxton's Eneydos of 1490, calling it now the prevailing one.^[3] In speaking of past time or events the two senses often mix.^[3] In 1589 G. Puttenham listed the word among forms he considered "altered Latines", neither natural Norman nor French.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave "not to be recalled; not to be brought back; not to be reversed", quoting Shakespeare's "Firm and irrevocable is my doom".^[10] Webster (1828) already applied it to a decree, sentence, edict or promise.^[9]

Timeline

• 1382 – that cannot be called back, of a sword drawn in the Wycliffite Bible.^[3][2]
• 1490 – that cannot be revoked, annulled or undone.^[3] The Middle English Dictionary has the sense in 1449.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Impossible to revoke, retract or undo; unalterable: Once signed, the transfer is irrevocable.^{[11][12][5][3]}
2. That cannot be called or brought back; beyond recall.^[5][10][3]

Word family

• irrevocability
• irrevocably
• irrevocableness
• nonirrevocable

Related words

• revoke
• revocable
• vocable
• voice

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt