impossibile

Forms

impossibile m or f by sense (plural impossibili)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian impossibele, Old Italian impossivile, Old Italian impossivole and Old Italian impossevole.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin impossibilis (“impossible”), made of in- (“not”) and possibilis (“possible”).^[2][5][6][7] The Latin adjective was introduced in imperial times, and is found in Quintilian, to render Ancient Greek ἀδύνατος (adýnatos, “powerless; impossible”); the noun impossibilitas (“impossibility”) came later, in Apuleius and Tertullian.^[2][3][8] Devoto–Oli, Treccani and Wiktionary call the adjective Late Latin.^[9][10][1] Its base comes from posse (“to be able”).^[7][8]

The same Latin word gave French impossible, recorded from the 14th century, and Spanish imposible.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, has the form impossibele: “Impossibele è che figlio sia / se non padre fu pria” (it is impossible that one be a son who was not first a father).^[2][8] Dante uses impossibile in the Convivio (1304–1308), with the sense “that is not, or does not seem, possible”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Used as a noun, l'impossibile, “what cannot be done”, the word is found in Filippo Ceffi in the first half of the 14th century and in Giovanni Gherardi before 1446.^[2] The colloquial sense “so unpleasant as to be unbearable” is first found in Federigo Nomi before 1705, in a noun use.^[2] Today it is said of a person who is hard to get along with, of heat or traffic, of food that tastes bad, and of strange tastes or colours.^[6][9][11]

The noun impossibilità appears with Dante as impossibilitade, and the verb impossibilitare in the 17th century; its participle impossibilitato, “unable”, is in Anton Maria Salvini before 1729.^[2] Law and mathematics use the word in reato impossibile, a crime that cannot have taken place, and equazione impossibile, an equation with no solution.^[6][11][7]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses impossibele.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses impossibile and impossibilitade.^[2]
• First half of the 14th century – Filippo Ceffi uses the word as a noun.^[2]
• Before 1653 – Luigi Giuglaris uses impossibilitare.^[2]
• Before 1705 – Federigo Nomi uses it of something unbearable.^[2]
• Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses impossibilitato.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. impossible, that cannot be done or cannot happen: È impossibile finire il lavoro entro domani.^[6][9][11]
2. Absurd, vain: Inseguiva sogni impossibili.^[6][7]
3. (hyperbolic) Very difficult: Il compito di fisica era impossibile.^[6]
4. (colloquial) Unbearable; of a person, impossible to get on with; of food or drink, unpleasant: Il nuovo vicino ha un carattere impossibile.^{[6][9][11][10]}
5. (colloquial) Odd, outlandish, of tastes or colours: Si veste con colori impossibili.^[6][10]
6. (mathematics, law) Of an equation or problem, having no solution; of a crime, that cannot have been committed.^[6][11][7]

Noun

1. L'impossibile, what cannot be done: fare l'impossibile, to try every means.^[6][11][10]

Word family

• impossibilità
• impossibilitare
• impossibilitato
• impossibilmente

Related words

• possibile
• Latin impossibilis

Usage notes

Pare impossibile and sembra impossibile express surprise at something true but hard to believe, and non è impossibile means “it cannot be ruled out”.^[6][9][7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1966
4. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
5. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 7, 500
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse