untouchable

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + touchable,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from the verb touch;^[3][7] the OED compares intouchable, recorded from 1569.^[2] Its use with reference to Hindu caste follows a Sanskrit word meaning "not to be touched", which first denoted anyone regarded as ritually unclean, usually for a time, then also criminals, and finally outcasts of other kinds.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Incapable of being touched; intangible, immaterial: about 1546, in W. Peryn's sermons.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1560s and Dictionary.com the word to 1560–70.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

From "intangible" the word moved to "out of reach" (1622) and "invulnerable" (1705), now chiefly of a person or group beyond criticism or attack.^[2][7] A second line of senses meant "that may not be touched" (1607): sacrosanct, legally inviolable (1720; 1734 in Etymonline), and of a subject, taboo (1818).^[2][3] The meaning "unrivalled" appears from 1837,^[2] by 1867 in Etymonline.^[3] From 1829 it could mean disgusting to touch, and later (1851) ritually unclean.^[2][3] It was applied to the lowest castes of South Asia as an adjective from 1906 and as a noun from 1907;^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date both to 1909, and Etymonline notes that the term and the restrictions were made illegal in India in 1947.^[3][7] By extension it came to mean any socially stigmatized person (adjective 1943, noun 1927).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1546 – intangible, immaterial.^[2]
• 1607 – that may not be touched or handled; sacrosanct.^[2][7]
• 1622 – out of reach.^[2]
• 1705 – invulnerable; later, beyond criticism.^[2]
• 1720 – that cannot legally be interfered with.^[2]
• 1818 – of a subject, taboo.^[2]
• 1837 – unrivalled, matchless.^[2]
• 1851 – ritually unclean.^[2]
• 1906 – of or relating to a low caste in South Asia; noun, a member of such a caste, from 1907.^[2]
• 1927 – noun, a social outcast.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That may not be touched or handled: The relics in the case are untouchable.^[7][2]
2. Beyond criticism, control or attack: The minister seemed untouchable after the election.^[8][7][2]
3. Out of reach: untouchable reserves of coal deep underground.^[8][7][2]
4. Unpleasant or defiling to touch; ritually unclean.^[7][2]
5. Without equal; unrivalled.^[2][4]

Noun

1. (offensive) A member of the lowest castes in traditional Hindu society, now called a Dalit.^[8][7][2]
2. A person or thing regarded as above criticism.^[8]
3. A person who is shunned or excluded by society; an outcast.^[2]

Word family

• untouchability
• untouchably

Related words

• touch
• touchable

Usage notes

Collins notes that the term, in relation to the caste system, is banned in both the Indian and the Pakistani constitutions, and labels the noun offensive.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b 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. ^ 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins