invisible English · revision 7897

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1340|origins=la invisibilis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪnˈvɪzəb(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, [[bor|fro|invisible]] and directly Latin [[m|la|invisibilis|t=unseen, not visible]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from in-, not, and visibilis (see [[visible]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ That cannot be seen by its nature: about 1340 in Barnhart, 1340 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Too small to be seen, as of pores, is first recorded in Hooke's ''Micrographia'' (1665).^(Barnhart 1988) Kept out of sight, and the noun, things invisible, are from the 1640s.^(Etymonline) Associations without an open organization are invisible from 1646–47,^(OED 1989) and ''invisible ink'' from 1682.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Invisible exports'' and imports, services not appearing in trade returns, are from 1911,^(OED 1989) as is the ''invisible man'', after H. G. Wells's novel of 1897.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Invisible mending'' is from 1921.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1340 – unseeable.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1640s – kept out of sight.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1665 – too small to see.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1682 – invisible ink.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1911 – invisible exports.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Impossible to see; not [[visible]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Hidden from view or from the public; secret.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not easily noticed: ''invisible mending''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(economics)'' Of or relating to services rather than goods.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(economics)'' An invisible item of trade.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[invisibility]]

+ * [[invisibly]]

+ * [[invisibleness]]

+ * [[invisible hand]]

+ * [[invisible ink]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[visible]]

+ * [[vision]]

+ * [[video]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}