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
• Maori: kāmehameha
• Swedish: ovärderlig (sv)

References

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

French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Middle French in-

Old Latin aestumō

Latin aestimōlbor.

Old French estimer

Middle French estimer

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ibilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -able

Middle French -able

Middle French estimable

Middle French inestimable

French inestimable

Inherited from Middle French inestimable, from in- +‎ estimable.

Equivalent to in- +‎ estimer +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.nɛs.ti.mabl/

Adjective

inestimable (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable; inestimable

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Descendants

• → Romanian: inestimabil

Further reading

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

Middle French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Middle French in-

Old Latin aestumō

Latin aestimōlbor.

Old French estimer

Middle French estimer

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ibilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -able

Middle French -able

Middle French estimable

Middle French inestimable

From in- + estimable.

Equivalent to in- +‎ estimer +‎ -able.

Adjective

inestimable m or f (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable; inestimable

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Descendants

• French: inestimable
  • → Romanian: inestimabil

References

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

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inestiˈmable/ [i.nes.t̪iˈma.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: i‧nes‧ti‧ma‧ble

Adjective

inestimable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable

Further reading

• “inestimable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10