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inaequalis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word inaequalis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (aequus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin aequus
Latin aeque
Latin aequiter
Latin iniquus
Latin inique
Latin aequo
Latin adaequo
Latin exaequo
Latin aequalis
English equal
French égal
French également
Latin aequaliter
Latin inaequalis

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪ.nae̯ˈkʷaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [i.neˈkʷaː.lis][1]

Forms

inaequālis (neuter inaequāle, comparative inaequālior, superlative inaequālissimus, adverb inaequāliter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- (“not”) + aequālis (“equal, even”).[2][3][4] aequālis comes from aequus (“level, equal”), for which de Vaan finds no convincing etymology.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero.[4]

Semantic evolution

Of surfaces it is uneven, not level: the Aetna has uneven fields, and Lewis & Short note this sense in Tacitus, Quintilian and Martial.[2][6] It is also of irregular shape or course: Livy has battle joined on an uneven front.[2] Celsus uses it of sweat that is patchy, and the elder Seneca of declamations uneven in merit.[2] It is unequal in size or strength: Horace has a guest draining unequal cups as he likes, and Livy calls a largesse unequally shared.[2] Of a person it is inconsistent: Horace has a man who lived so unevenly that he changed his stripe by the hour.[2] The TLL finds the comparative in Celsus and Pliny the Younger and the superlative in Suetonius.[3] Niermeyer records medieval senses wrongful and defective.[7] Church Latin glosses it unequal, uneven, unlike.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of unequal cups and an inconsistent man.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of an uneven front.[2][4]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus of patchy sweat.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of surfaces, uneven, not level.[2][6][1][8]
  2. Irregular in shape or course; patchy; uneven in merit.[2]
  3. Unequal in size, strength or share.[2][6][1][8]
  4. Of persons, inconsistent, changeable.[2][6]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Wrongful; defective.[7]

Word family

  • inaequālitās

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Inaequalis.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/inaequalis. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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