Etymologically
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insolubilis

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ĩː.sɔˈɫuː.bɪ.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [in.soˈluː.bi.lis][1]

Forms

īnsolūbilis (neuter īnsolūbile); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + solvō (“to loosen, pay”) + -bilis.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca, in On Benefits, says a debt of kindness cannot be repaid.[4][2] Köbler dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.[5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it post-Augustan.[4] In Seneca it meant that cannot be repaid, and in Quintilian of a sign, that cannot be refuted, incontestable.[2][6] Macrobius uses it literally of an indissoluble bond.[4][7]

In medieval Latin it meant indissoluble, unbreakable, of bonds and charters, perpetual of divine punishment, unforgivable, and in Germanic law not to be compensated by a wergeld.[8][9] English insoluble is recorded in the late 14th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a debt that cannot be repaid.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of incontestable signs.[6][5]
  • 1st half of 5th century AD – Macrobius uses it of an indissoluble bond.[4][5]
  • late 14th century – English insoluble is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. That cannot be repaid.[2][4]
  2. Incontestable, irrefutable.[2][1]
  3. That cannot be loosed, indissoluble.[4][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Unforgivable; not liable to wergeld.[8]

Word family

  • insolubilitas

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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