inaccessibilis

Forms

inaccessibilis (neuter inaccessibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in-² (“not”) + accessibilis (“approachable”).^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges and Köbler give Porphyrio's commentary on Horace as the first source, meaning unapproachable.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It is a post-classical word for places that cannot or may not be approached,^[6][2] found in the Latin panegyrics, Tertullian, Servius and Augustine.^[6][7][8] Christian writers took it up, and it was used of light with reference to the First Epistle to Timothy.^[9][4]

In Medieval Latin it meant impassable or unattainable, of places, people, things and ideas.^[10][11][9] Through Old French it gave English inaccessible.^[3]

Timeline

• 2nd half of the 2nd century AD – Porphyrio uses it in his commentary on Horace.^[4][5]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.^[6][7][5]
• c. 400 AD – Servius uses it in his commentary on the Aeneid.^[6][7][5]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it in a letter.^[8][5]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as inaccessible.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Unapproachable, inaccessible.^[6][4][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) Impassable, unattainable; remote.^[10][11]

Related words

• accēdō
• English inaccessible

Usage notes

In Medieval Latin it is also spelled inadcessibilis.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften