Etymologically
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invisibilis

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɪn.wiːˈsɪ.bɪ.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [iɱ.viˈs̬iː.bi.lis][1]

Forms

invīsibilis (neuter invīsibile, adverb invīsibiliter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from in- “not” and vīsibilis “visible”, from videō “to see”.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Köbler cite Celsus, of invisible pores.[5][3] Köbler dates Celsus 14–37 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant invisible, unseen, a post-Augustan word first found in Celsus, and Tertullian, Lactantius and Augustine used it of God and the unseen world.[5][6] Isidore explains that the Trinity is called invisible because it never appeared to mortal eyes in its own substance.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant invisible, with an adverb invīsibiliter.[8] British Medieval Latin used it for not seen, out of sight, and for what cannot be understood.[9] English invisible came through Old French in the mid-14th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it.[5][3]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.[5][3]
  • mid-14th century – English invisible is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Invisible, unseen.[2][5]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Incomprehensible.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  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