Talk:impossible

RFV discussion: February–April 2022

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impossible

• (obsolete) an impossibility
  • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Frankeleyns Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

    “Madame,” quod he, “this were an impossible!”

    (please add an English translation of this quotation)

  Quotation changed by Astova:

  • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Frankeleyns Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

    Madame( {quod} he )thys were impossible

    (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Tagged by Astova, not listed (“This was sourced with Chaucer (see below), but that's Middle English (enm) and was misquoted”). J3133 (talk) 21:06, 19 February 2022 (UTC)

If the ME is doubted, apparently Chaucer also used this in Troilus and Cressida (spelt inpossible). Anyway, as for Modern English, OED suggests this is in fact not obsolete and should be citeable with some creative searching (I obviously don't want to copy the cites out of OED). However, it seems to me that a lot of adjectives can be used in this way. We could likely cite inconceivable as a noun meaning "an inconceivability", for instance; and deplorable is a case in point from modern times. So it may not be entry-worthy on those grounds. This, that and the other (talk) 09:12, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

cited Kiwima (talk) 02:38, 13 April 2022 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 05:19, 20 April 2022 (UTC)