intangible

Forms

intangible (plural intangibles)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French in- + tangible.^{[2][1][3][4][5]} Tangible (late 14th century) is from Late Latin tangibilis (“that can be touched”), from tangō (“to touch”).^[2][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the third quarter of the 15th century, in an epistle of Jean Castel printed with the works of Georges Chastellain, meaning “that cannot be touched”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense, “that escapes the sense of touch”, is now dated.^[7][4] The modern sense, “that must not be touched or infringed, that must be kept intact”, is recorded by the TLFi and the Petit Robert from 1899, in Clemenceau's principe intangible;^[2][7] the GLLF dates it from the Larousse of 1922.^[4] The noun intangibilité followed the same path, “state of what cannot be touched” in 1834 and “state of what must be kept intact” in 1919.^[2]

Timeline

• 1450–1475 – Jean Castel uses it in the sense “that cannot be touched”.^[2]
• 1834 – Boiste records intangibilité.^[2]
• 1899 – Clemenceau writes principe intangible, in the sense “inviolable”.^[2][7]
• 1919 – Barrès uses intangibilité of laws that must be kept intact.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) That cannot be touched or perceived by touch, impalpable.^[7][4]
2. That must not be touched or infringed, that must remain intact, inviolable: des principes intangibles.^[7][8][4]

Word family

• intangibilité

Related words

• tangible

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 81b
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)