inestimable

inestimable

English

Alternative forms

• inæstimable (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle French inestimable, from Latin inaestimābilis, from in (“un-”, “not”) + aestimābilis (“estimable”). Equivalent to in- +‎ estimable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɛːs.tɪ.mə.bəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĭnĕsʹtĭməbl, IPA^(key): /ɪnˈɛstɪməbl/

Adjective

inestimable (not comparable)

1. Not able to be estimated; not able to be calculated, computed or comprehended, as because of great scale, degree or magnitude.
   • 1776, United States Declaration of Independence

     He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

   The Voyager spacecraft explored the solar system and continued into the inestimable space beyond.

2. Venerable, great.
   • 1789, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 15

     On my arrival hither I found a letter from the inestimable Mr. Wythe, by which he informs me that in consequence of a late act of our general assembly he remains the sole judge of the high court of chancery.

Translations

Not able to be estimated; not able to be calculated, computed or comprehended

Finnish: mahdoton arvioida, mahdoton mitata

Venerable, great

Czech: neocenitelný Finnish: kunnianarvoisa, verraton (fi) French: inappréciable (fr) German: unschätzbar (de) Latin: impretiabilis Swedish: ovärderlig (sv)

References

• “inestimable, a. (n.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]

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French

Etymology

From in- +‎ estimer +‎ -able.

Adjective

inestimable (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable; inestimable

Further reading

• “inestimable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Spanish

Adjective

inestimable (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable

Further reading

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