inenubilable

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)newdʰ-“to cover”
2. Latin · derived fromēnūbilāre“to clear of clouds or mist; (figurative) to clear of obscurity”
3. English todayinenubilable

From English in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + Latin ēnūbilāre (“to clear of clouds or mist; (figurative) to clear of obscurity”) + English -able (suffix meaning ‘able to be done’ forming adjectives), possibly coined by the English critic and essayist Max Beerbohm (1872–1956): see the 1903 and 1911 quotations below. By surface analysis, in- + e- + Latin nubil- + -able. Ēnūbilāre is derived from ē- (a variant of ex- (prefix denoting privation)) + nūbilus (“cloudy, overcast; (figurative) beclouded, confused, troubled”) (from nūbēs (“cloud; (figurative) concealment, obscurity”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)newdʰ- (“to cover”)) + -āre.

Words from the same roots