irrevocabilis

Forms

irrevocābilis (neuter irrevocābile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1] Manuscripts mostly spell it inrevocābilis.^[2][3] A comparative is found, but no superlative.^[3] The adverb is irrevocābiliter.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“not”), revocō (“to call back”) and the suffix ⟨-bilis⟩,^[2][3] or from in- and revocābilis.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Lucretius and Horace on, and in prose from Livy;^[3] Lucretius speaks of past time, irrevocable, that has carried off the generations of men.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means that cannot be called back, of time, as in Lucretius;^[2] Horace's semel ēmissum volat irrevocābile verbum says that a word once let go flies off beyond recall.^[6] Of a person it is that cannot be held back from his purpose, as in Lucan's crowd that rushes on uncontrollably.^[2] Of actions and events it is irreversible, unalterable: Livy has someone rather than throw himself into an irrevocable venture on a vain hope.^[2] Of things it is that cannot be drawn back, as Pliny the Elder's barbed arrowheads.^[2] In Church Latin it means irrevocable.^[4] English irrevocable (late 14th century) is from it.^[5]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of past time.^[2][3][7]
• 65–8 BC – Horace, of a word once spoken.^[6][7]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, the first prose author to use it.^[3][7]
• late 14th century – Borrowed into English as irrevocable.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That cannot be called back, irrevocable.^[2][6][1][4]
2. Of a person: that cannot be held back, uncontrollable.^[2][6][1]
3. That cannot be undone, unalterable.^[2][6]
4. Of things: that cannot be drawn back.^[2]

Related words

• revocō
• revocābilis
• English irrevocable

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de