Etymology

impassable

I1M3P3A1S1S1A1B3L1E1

Today it means: Incapable of being passed over, crossed, or negotiated. Full definition →

English pass ← Middle English passen ← Old French passer
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Middle Englishin-
  6. Englishim-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*peth₂-
  8. Proto-Italic*pattus
  9. Latinpassus
  10. Vulgar Latin*passāre
  11. Old Frenchpasser
  12. Middle Englishpassen
  13. Englishpass
  14. English todayimpassable

From im- + pass + -able.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.