inalienable

inalienable

See also: inaliénable

English

WOTD – 4 July 2009

Etymology

Borrowed around 1645 from French inaliénable, from in- + aliénable (“alienable”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪˈneɪ.lɪ.ə.nə.bəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪˈneɪ.li.ə.nə.bəl/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

inalienable (not comparable)

1. Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable.

   An inalienable right is a right that cannot be given away

   • 1838 (date written)​, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, OCLC 1000392275, page 252:

     "Know thy own worth, and reverence the lyre," is a line that should be as a fillet bound round the brow—a philactory embroidered on the garments of every son and daughter of Adam distinguished by the possession of that sacred gift, which, whether used or abused, applauded in itself or derided in its possessor, is the highest and the most inalienable distinction humanity ever has or ever can be gifted with, whether bestowed on the highest or the humblest being, in the great mass to which we all belong.

2. (grammar) Of or pertaining to a noun belonging to a special class in which the possessive construction differs from the norm, especially for particular familial relationships and body parts.

Usage notes

While inalienable and unalienable are today used interchangeably (with inalienable the more common) the terms have historically sometimes been distinguished.[1]

Synonyms

• unalienable

Antonyms

• (incapable of being alienated): alienable

Translations

incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable

Armenian: անօտարելի (hy) (anōtareli) Azerbaijani: ayrılmaz Bulgarian: непрехвърляем (neprehvǎrljaem) Catalan: inalienable (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 不可转让的 Czech: nezcizitelný (cs) Dutch: onvervreemdbaar (nl) Finnish: erottamaton (fi) French: inaliénable (fr) German: unabdingbar (de) Greek: αναφαίρετος (el) m (anafaíretos) Hebrew: שאין להעבירו לאחר‎ (she'éin leha'aviró leakhér) Hungarian: elidegeníthetetlen (hu) Italian: inalienabile (it) Macedonian: нео́туѓив m (neótuǵiv) Manx: neuchaghlaaee Polish: niezbywalny (pl) Portuguese: inalienável (pt) Russian: неотчужда́емый (ru) (neotčuždájemyj), неотъе́млемый (ru) (neotʺjémlemyj) Scottish Gaelic: do-dhealachaidh Spanish: inalienable (es)

grammar: of a noun class belonging to a special class

Portuguese: inalienável (pt) Scottish Gaelic: do-dhealaichte Swedish: oförytterlig

References

1. “Unalienable” vs. “Inalienable”, Alfred Adask, Adask’s law, July 15, 2009, 3:56 PM

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inaljeˈnable/ [i.na.ljeˈna.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: i‧na‧lie‧na‧ble

Adjective

inalienable (plural inalienables)

1. inalienable

Further reading

• “inalienable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014